My Own Utopian Experiment #32: Artful living aligned with your soul
Making every day’s surrounding as my soul wants and needs is a form of arts, arts in ordinary living.
Everything I do affects my soul. All things, most of the things if not all, should be the expressions of my soul. This is why unconscious and habitual choices are affecting more than we can imagine. It is vital that we carefully choose where we go, what we do, what we eat, what to experience, what to think, etc.
It is important for me to start every day in a right tone. As soon as I wake up, I hear my son’s footsteps and talking to himself in an imaginative way. He has so much imagination and always act out in the way that he is multiple characters. I enjoy the sounds of creative and innocent play about 10 mins and say good morning to him. I make my bed which takes a few mins. This simple act changes many things throughout the day. When I walk by my bed during the day, it looks neat and ready to take me at night to get some rest I deserve. No matter what happened during the day, the neatly made bed comforts me in the way I feel good again. It is a sense of achievement from investing a few mins. My little one and I have breakfast together 365 days. We like this quite time munching and talking before he goes to school and I start my day. Our mornings are similar to most of people. I pack lunch for him and getting him ready for the school. I also need to get myself ready for work as well. We can do this because we wake up early enough. It is nice to be with him this bonding and peaceful way. Waking up early for the precious moment is totally worth it. We are starting our days in the definitely pleasant tone. He learned to enjoy a bit of morning without rushing such a young age. I hope he continues to enjoy his morning this way with memories spending time with mom. We are indeed cultivating what our souls crave together. When weather permits, I walk around my house about 10 mins before I start my day. I am a working mom and sometimes have tight schedule. Regardless of how busy a day seems, it is important not to rush into the day. The 10 mins gives me the dose of fresh air, nature and right mood to start a good day. I carefully choose where to walk, quiet side of neighborhood with lots of trees. As for many working parents, my mornings are busy as well. The morning walk works as a reminder to slow down. The simple morning ritual is a form of art to create your own pleasant atmosphere. I call it art in creating good morning.
I experiment and choose the right scent for the day. It is no secret that I love scents. Have you had any memories that are attached to special scents? When I was little, my mom used to store dried garlic heads in the attic. I smell it when I go there to look for treasures or read a book in solitude. Whenever I smell similar, it just takes me there. The small wonderland filled with treasures is alive and bring my imagination wild. I lost my dad 6 years ago. Whenever I smell Marlboro red cigarette, I look around. It feels as if he just pasted by me. This does not sadden me. I cherish it. There’s a lovely hotel in Milwaukee, WI with beautiful scent. I brought their small bottle of body lotion. When I smell it, it takes me back there with one summer memories with my family. Scent is so powerful. This is why aromatherapy works without knowing the molecule and scientific level. The scent molecule travel from olfactory nerves to brain where it is associated with emotions. Scent enhances the mood and create memories attached to the very emotion we felt along with the smell. Isn’t our body fascinating? I hang dried lavender in a small bag in my closet. It has been there more than 5 years. I still smell very light scent of lavender when I shuffle through my hanged clothes. I have scented candles but I do not light every day. I have it in case I feel like it. Having a couple good ones last very long time for me. When I need to relax more than usual after a tough day, I use body lotion and body oil with eucalyptus, spearmint and essential oils. It is one of my stress relief rituals after a hot shower. When I want to feel feminine, I put my rose body cream. I try my best to pick natural ones but I also own a few perfumes. When I want to feel elegant, I use my Gucci perfume, Flora. When I have really nice weather, I put Versace, Bright Crystal ABSOLU. When I wear a suit for work and want to feel strong, I put Burberry perfume, Goddess which is a gift from my neighbor. I just love the light smell of soaps so I sometimes get my favorite soaps and store it in a drawer with my craft papers. The drawer and papers have very light smell of my favorite soaps. When I bake banana bread or apple with cinnamon, I make sure I pick a chilly day with windows closed. I sometimes bake banana bread and apple with cinnamon because I like how the house smells. When you create your scents, please try your best to pick close to natural. There are so many products filled with chemicals. When I use perfume, I use very little. Picking the right scent to my vibe is art in elevating my day with scent.
This is something I practice in recent years. I am being more sensitive about things at home. I used to get something the most economic and the easiest to get. For example, little things like a scissor and pencil holder, envelope opener on my desk. They seemed so trivial to my daily living. I have been slowly changed in more soulful way for my stuff. Why don’t I get something beautiful that’s created with care and intentions for beauty? The little things I enjoy to use, touch and look at enhances my daily living. I already accumulated things so I do not necessarily throw everything away. It will take time to make my home more like me. It also takes time to find something beautiful that I fall in love as well. I am not rushing the process. The journey itself is the fun part, cultivating my own taste. When I have a chance to replace things, I carefully choose. I have a handmade wooden carved envelope opener. There’s a giraffe on the top. I can tell it is carved from one piece of wood. There’s no metal bolts or glue or paint. It is in its natural state of wood without paints. I just love to use or look at it. I often bring mails to my desk just to use it instead of ripping the envelope to open. I enjoy looking at it so it works as my fidget, little toy. I journal so I sometimes decorate journal books with fabric and iron patches. Having a cute journal book on my desk is joyful. I have fun in creating my personal one. I recently got a gift from a girlfriend. It is a golden and blue metal bookmark with Van Gough’s The Starry Night. She knows I am a fan of his work. I read a book everyday so a beautiful bookmark with my favorite artist enhances my experience. There are a couple treasures I would like to have. One is a perfect window glass ornament for one of the windows in my room. You can find these on Amazon but I am looking for something more artistic, not factory-made products. Another one is old-fashion 100% cotton lace curtains. This will be a hard one. There’s nothing like this so I need to learn more about antique. Whenever I go to antique shops or craft fairs. I will look for them, my treasure hunts. Choosing my stuff carefully is art in creating home as my home and cultivating my own taste. What are your little treasures that bring you joy?
Next week, I will share more about arts in ordinary living. In the meanwhile, please practice arts in creating joy. Sending my love as always.