No Finger Pointing with Feng Shui

I'm going to delay a bit in talking about the kitchen and memories of my mother...instead, I was thinking today about feng shui and why it's an alluring philosophy for cleaning up one's act. It hit me: it's completely out of the schema of family and friends telling us to clean up. 


I am not particularly into Eastern philosophies, though I do some middle-of-the-road yoga. I sorta kinda believe spaces have energy. We are sensory beings, and sensory overload stresses me out at some point, just as a lovely, airy space brings peace. So yes, there's some "energetic" quality to spaces. Aesthetics matter and impact our feelings.


Focusing on aesthetics and "energy" (emotional response?) helps "detoxify" the negative feelings toward organizing. I read a basic feng shui book by Mary Lambert and while I don't believe everything in it, reading that book felt so freeing. If organizing is based on space, flow, chi, etc. then cleaning up gets depersonalized and framed in a new way. Kind of a superstitious way, but it's a fresh approach with no baggage and lots of promise to help me directly. When it's not about disapproval and the shoulds, it becomes more about benefiting me and my household. That is pretty darn shame-free. No family voices, no grumpy  roommates, no societal expectations of what women should be doing in the home. Just a motivation to be more functional, peaceful, and self-sufficient. 

Reading Lambert's book, I loved the idea of decluttering as "moving on," which is so key when dealing with estate clutter. Out of everything in that book, that concept comforts and motivates me the most. Saying "it's okay to move on" makes it easier to let go of items and boosts my energy level. It also alerts me that I am doing something difficult--sometimes it feels good to move on, but sometimes it brings grief. But moving on will happen, even if it needs to be in spurts. I also became aware that I wasn't always sure it was okay to move on--so I learned more about myself and past habits. (Turns out I am pretty sentimental.)


As for feng shui itself, I don't believe specific furniture arrangements will bring good luck into my life, but I do believe freeing up space will help me stay on top of paperwork, not trip on something in the dark hall, etc. Instead of just doing a chore, I am helping myself out. And aesthetically, it just looks and feels better. Perhaps feng shui entices the clutterer to have internal motivation to get organized, rather than calling attention to outside forces from the past or present. They say wanting something for yourself is the key to changing a habit, so I'll take the motivations I like from feng shui and leave the rest.