In my bedroom when I wake, one of the first things I see is an old weather wooden sign hanging that spells the word ‘Love’. When I walk down the stairs, these days with my 1-year-old boy clung to my shoulder, I see a black and white photograph of Crosby, Stills, and Nash about to take the stage in the year 1970. The trio is huddled together, Stills slung with his guitar, all three with a slight smile, and Crosby with his fingers crossed. Hope. In my writing room, a painting of a scene from Dr Seuss hangs over the fireplace, while our weathered upright piano, a gift of a gift with a story to tell and a cracked soundboard lives within reach. Looking out over our little swath of nature where the deer come to rest at the bottom of the hill, near the totem my cousin carried out of the Weston woods over a decade ago, the one I brought with me to Fairfield and then hear to the Easton home I call The Treehouse. The mother fox shows up often, visiting with the spirits of her babies that she lost and who I buried where the grass now grows greener. It is a great place to write, to play, and to be. Although lately I’ve found myself writing in the sun-filled breakfast nook that is filled with plants.
Those plants have stories of their own. There’s the orchid, a gift upon our arrival in Easton that has persevered against the cold winters and glancing light to bring the first signs of beauty in the spring. The season of reawakening is near. The aloe that was left for dead on the cold side of our rental but then saved to grow back vibrant and deep green, reaching in twisted arcs unlike the others as a testament to its challenges of rebirth.
These are the things (some of them) that surround me, and these are the things I’ve become. Or at least I’m trying.
First, try love, says Sadhguru. So maybe first see love. With love, all is possible. Hope, the way David Crosby did before the trio sang angelically, ‘We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden’. And, ‘We are stardust’. The permission to dream, wonder, believe, and imagine. The reality of our connection with the oxygen breathing world and with the sun. These are reminders I want, and ones I need.
That which surrounds you. What you see, hear, feel, and smell intrinsically influences your thoughts, actions, feelings, and emotions. Choose wisely, as the Knight guarding the holy grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade says. Sadhguru, a renowned yogi and mystic, says more:
Before we get to possessions and environment, let’s cover thoughts. We all have so many flying around these days, including those planted by the ubiquitous suggestion of our digital lives.
Sadhguru has a program called Inner Engineering that focuses on transforming the way you perceive and experience life. In IE, we are to manage our thoughts and emotions to achieve balance a peace, not become thought. Sadhguru is wary of us becoming our thoughts and encourages us to instead observe them, creating a distance that allows us to manage negative thoughts or emotions. We all have them, sometimes dark and scary ones. Do not place too much meaning on them, he advises.
On our surrounds, it’s a no brainer. To cultivate inner beauty and peace, create a conducive environment. Your external environment can significantly influence your internal state. The first step is a great way to prepare for Spring: declutter. I’ve started already.
What you leave, what surrounds you should make you smile, think, sleep well, and just be in a way that contributes to your inner peace. Feng Shui, in a way, the ancient Chinese practice that believes optimal placement in our surroundings can enhance health, wealth, and well-being. This harkens to keep mindful of both space, strategy, and meaning. Think, art and music of course but also those emblems, like prizes of remembrance, that bring you a reminder to be good to yourself, to love, and to allow yourself to be loved.
Nature too, is a great way to surround yourself with beauty ever-changing and a good place to practice both mindfulness and meditation. All of this contributes to your inner beauty Sadguru says allowing ‘self-awareness and compassion to radiate outward and positively impact your surroundings.’ It’s almost like, everything’s connected after all. Reciprocity indeed!
What do you surround yourself with, and what are your best tips for decluttering. I really need to tackle this garage ….
Be Good to Yourself,
Ken
The Cultural Easton 