Mary's Musings

Recently, I was at a space that I teach classes in with the landlord, thinking about ways we could rearrange the space.  It had been a while since things were moved around and the energy just felt stagnant.

So as we sat trying to decide what to throw out, what to keep, where to move it, I said, "Well, let's look at what we want this room to be.  What do we want it to bring to others?  What do we want to create?"

My landlord took out a piece of paper and said, "Let's brainstorm it!"

So we jotted down a bunch of words that we wanted the room to capture - learning, teaching, fun, light, happy, bright, energetic, comforting, transformational, growth, joy. 

We also noticed the room was lacking in creativity and openness, not by its decorations but the feeling it did not evoke.  It seemed cluttered, stopping the creative flow.

So as we went through the room together, we would look at things and say "Does this fit into our words that we're trying to embody?"  If it didn't, we would move it, find a new home or throw it out all together. 

There weren't many changes - we had switched a round table in the hallway with a square one, threw out some dying plants, angled one of the tables, used a different slip cover on one of the chairs, shifted some books - but what we did do, opened up the room.

Once we were done, we reviewed the list again - and we hit all the points we were trying to achieve in the room.

Instead of just looking at what was in the room as things, we actually said how do these things fit in - what do they offer as the "theme" or energy of the room.  This was how we made our decisions.

So the next time you're cleaning or rearranging a room, think about what you're trying to capture in the room.   For example, if it's the bedroom, are you trying to have a restful room, your sanctuary?  A place to do research or bring in more love and romance?   Make a list of the words you want to capture and base your decisions on that. 

Once you do that, the energy you create will stay because your things, your purpose will support that.   Have fun with it - it can actually make cleaning a little bit easier on the body and the mind.