Last week, I received many concerned messages from friends and family in the US. They saw the news headlines about the protests in the streets of France and wondered, is Susan ok?
Rest assured, I am ok.
There’s definitely something about living in France that keeps you on your toes! One minute you can be admiring the beautiful architecture, enjoying your café and the next minute, there’s a passionate political debate or a “manifestation,” aka protest just winding around the corner.
Ah, Vive la France!
But it got me wondering: how often do we have our own little protests going on inside us, even when everything looks perfectly fine on the outside?
I do admire that my French compatriots certainly know how to make their voices heard. And while I won’t get into politics here, all this unrest has got me thinking about a different kind of turmoil, and how, of course, it applies to Feng Shui and your world.
Public unrest and personal turmoil aren’t the same thing, of course. But both can reveal something that has been simmering beneath the surface.
In Feng Shui, I see your outer environment as a reflection of what’s happening within you. This has been my Feng Shui philosophy since…forever.
Your environment is always telling you everything you need. If you don’t listen, it will start screaming, just like what happened last weekend in the streets of Paris.
You know that feeling when something isn’t quite right and you can’t put your finger on it? On the outside, life might look perfectly fine. You’re doing what you’re supposed to do, keeping everything moving along. But then there’s just that one thing that’s gnawing at you — the thing that hangs over your head, that part of your space that gets ignored.
Maybe it’s a room you avoid, a pile of paperwork you keep moving around or a corner you’ve stopped noticing. Everything else looks fine, but that neglected space keeps quietly reminding you of something unresolved.
You may think of turmoil as a bad thing – something to calm down, fix or get rid of as quickly as possible. But what if it’s trying to tell us something?
In my Feng Shui practice, I often see people wanting to change their surroundings because something in their lives feels off. They might think they need to rearrange the furniture, clear the clutter or bring in some new energy.
But I’ve learned that the most effective and efficient method is to understand what’s happening within you before changing what’s around you. That’s why I begin with the person, not the furniture. It’s not the only way, but it’s a damn effective way.
Perhaps you’ve outgrown a situation or something you’ve tolerated for years no longer feels right. Maybe you’re simply changing and your life is still trying to catch up. That can create a lot of stress.
One main goal of Feng Shui is harmony, but did you ever consider that in order to achieve harmony, stuff needs to get uncomfortable? Sometimes discomfort is the very thing that gets your attention.
Did you get an annoying zit on your face? In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), certain skin breakouts may be interpreted as signs of excess heat. Maybe you’ve been eating too many warming foods. Time for some cooling foods! Maybe you’re overworked and stressed. Time to take your foot off the gas. Your body is just telling you nicely 😉
And look what just popped up again, just in time for the new season! An article in Good Housekeeping about color and Feng Shui, where I contributed my two cents 😉
So while Paris sorts out its latest round of upheaval, here’s a little Autumn Feng Shui ritual for the new season :
- Walk around your home – Take a slow walk through each room. No rushing, just notice.
- Observe your space and yourself – How does each room feel? How do you feel in it? Does it need a little energy? Does it still feel like you? Look at the colors, shapes and objects around you. Maybe something that once felt right no longer does.
- Take action – Read the article and see whether a little injection of color might bring some fresh energy and joy into your home. Sometimes a small change is all it takes to get things moving again.
And when you’re done, let me know what changes you made 🙂
