Recently I traded some unused air miles for a subscription to Organic Style magazine. I had no idea what it was like, but it sounded interesting. It turns out it's not my kind of magazine, but I do flip through it before putting it in the magazine swap rack at the recycling center.
April's issue has an article on vastu (India), feng shui (China), and wabi-sabi (Japan). It's interesting seeing the differences between the three. For example, feng shui likes the shiny and new, and wabi-sabi likes the old and worn.
I was amused to read that knitting is a recommended activity in wabi-sabi: "it's productive, meditative, and relaxing."
One quote struck a chord: in vastu, "physical clutter creates mental clutter." I mostly agree with this, but I think I'll change it slightly to "physical clutter aggravates mental clutter", since I know that some people can be unaffected by clutter. I'm not one of those... I *really* need to clean my coffee table, desk, and craft table. It's on my to-do list... right after my Canadian taxes. ;) A wabi-sabi approach? "Get rid of two items every time you buy a new one." Sounds like a good stash diet plan. ;)
I find it somewhat interesting that I designed my living space with no regard to any of these methods, and simply just did "what felt right". A friend of mine, that used a feng shui manual to organize her space, finds mine much nicer and more relaxing. In fact, when I let her stay with me for a few days while she was in the process of moving, she found my couch more restful than her bed. Go figure.
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