Inspired Readings: Simple Abundance
How to have a cozy home anywhere for any amount of time
Earlier this year I walked into a bookstore looking for something of substance to give me what I desperately needed - inspiration. I was scanning the aisles when this orange book jumped out at me: Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It’s a daybook with a message for each day centering around abundance but touching on so much more. There are passages about have an emergency go bag, spring cleaning, and what it means to be authentically yourself. If you haven’t read it before, I would highly recommend doing yourself the honor of grabbing a copy.
Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life by Sarah Ban Breathnach
Each day is a new message and recently she had a few entries revolving around the home. As you know, cozy is important to me and having a cozy house is paramount. As she states in the book:
“There’s a fair chance that by the time a woman is forty she will have moved at least seven times during her life. And the prediction for a lifetime of moves now is eleven.”
I have certainly surpassed 11 moves and who knows how many more I will have! Moving can be unsettling but it can also be exciting and adventurous. I’m currently living in my desert hometown but I’ve lived in San Diego, California and Manhattan throughout my life - just to name a few. No matter where I lived or for how long I lived there, it was always important to me to have my cozy sanctuary wherever I was located.
Now, to achieve this, you obviously have the physical matter to attend to - your furniture, your decor, the colors of the walls, the materials used. This is all very important and I would advise to choose every item with what aligns with your authentic self. This does not mean you have to order everything from West Elm (speaking to myself) or Pottery Barn! Have you looked at your local thrift stores, Facebook market place (though I abhor Facebook I do have to admit the marketplace is wonderful), Offer Up? My sister one time found a bunch of free phone cases! I’m not sure why she needed them but my point is - abundance is all around you.
Materials, materials, materials. I do have to say this is an area I invest in. I am sensitive in all areas of life and especially my sense of touch. I want my clothing to feel good, my sheets to be comfy, and my plates to feel heavy. I would recommend investing in some quality linen sheets or handmade plates. Throw in some art from Savers and we are forming our cozy sanctuary.
Next up would be flowers!! Also a physical matter but so important to creating cozy that it requires its own section. We can also include plants in this category as well. As you may know, there are many benefits to having live plants in the house: improved air quality, boosted mood, reduced stress, and most importantly - feeling connected to nature. Flowers though have the overwhelming power to brighten up the room, the house, and my entire being. If I have guests visit, I place fresh flowers in their room. Everyone deserves cozy! Trader Joes is a wonderful inexpensive option for this and it makes all the difference.
Scents. A different sense! Ha, get it. Scents are important to me and as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) I also do not like anything too strong or chemical-y. Please, please no heavily scented candles or scentsy. Now, I do love essential oil diffusers - specifically blasting Thieves from Young Living (iykyk) throughout the house. I also love the smell of chicken confit slow roasting in the oven, freshly baked sourdough bread, onions and garlic being sautéed. Invoking some natural lovely scents in the house - cozy am I right?
Now that we’ve explored sight, smell, taste, and touch - let’s talk about hearing. There are so many sounds to experience in your home and so many ways to bring in that feeling of cozy. Of course, we have music. Just like anything else in your life - be intentional with the sounds of your home. On Sunday mornings I like to play jazz. Dinner parties I go with the vibe - a Hozier radio station? A Summer in Italia playlist? Pick something that will positively infiltrate you and bring your warmth and Light. What other sounds can we experience in the home? Some of my favorites are laughter, my fiance’s voice, the wind blowing through the cypress trees in the backyard, my fiance’s son playing the guitar like a lap steel although it most definitely is not, and often the peaceful silence in serene moments.
Lastly, we have what is beyond (or perhaps not) the senses. The energy or the soul of your home. Sarah says it best here:
“How we care for our homes is a subtle but significant expression not only of our self-esteem but the contentment of our soul.”
Now, we have two items to discuss here:
Your own energy and the energy of those living in your home
The energy of the home itself as I do believe it has its own
The union between yourself and your home is a cyclical relationship - one effects the other and vice versa. Have you ever walked into a home and just felt good? Have you ever felt the opposite? Of course we have! So, think about that feeling with your own home. Some questions to ask yourself:
How does the energy feel right now and how do I want it to feel?
What can I do to achieve that? Can I clear some clutter? Can I make my bed every day?
Can I cleanse or smudge the house?
Can I consult a Feng Shui expert (I have a person if needed)?
How is my energy?
Can I access my higher self?
Can I clear my own negative energy?
Even simply thinking about this can shift it all.
Bonus question - what is the name of my house? You may think this is silly and please only do what feels right to you! I currently live in an Italian-inspired home which I have named La Dolce Vita. The sweet life. It so fits the house and the kind of life I live. I find personalizing your house connects you with the soul of your home.
We have talked about your own personal home but I don’t want to forget that we are all inhabitants of one grand, universal home. Mary Oliver, one of my favorite poets, is always who I go to for her wisdom and insights. I would love to end with her words from Upstream: Selected Essays.
"And we might, in our lives, have many thresholds, many houses to walk out from and view the stars, or to turn and go back to for warmth and company. But the real one—the actual house, not of beams and nails but of existence itself—is all of earth, with no door, no address separate from oceans or stars, or from pleasure or wretchedness either, or hope, or weakness, or greed.
How wonderful that the universe is beautiful in so many places and in so many ways. But also the universe is brisk and businesslike, and no doubt does not give its delicate landscapes or its thunderous displays of power, and perhaps perception, too, for our sakes or our improvement. Nevertheless, its intonations are our best tonics, if we would take them. For the universe is full of radiant suggestion.For whatever reason, the heart cannot separate the world's appearance and actions from morality and valor, and the power of every idea is intensified, if not actually created, by its expression in substance. Over and over in the butterfly we see the idea of transcendence. In the forest we see not the inert but the aspiring. In water that departs forever and forever returns, we experience eternity."
So, please, remember that Earth is all of our home. Let’s treat ourselves, others, and Mother Earth with the utmost respect, love, and adoration. We matter, you matter. Wishing you the coziest home filled with the coziest times. ♡