“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.” — Claude Monet
To create a home that nurtures and inspires, we have to dig beneath the surface. Exploring our personal archaeology, or Self-Archaeology, is challenging, but it is definitely worth the effort. Remembering where we have been helps us find our way in the future. To make the excavation process easier, try making a timeline to show how your personal style has changed over the years from your early twenties to the age that you are today. Above the timeline describe where you have lived. Below the line, describe or draw what you wore at that time and what was in your room, apartment, or home. Use magazine clippings and family photos too. Have fun with the process. It will provide clarity and help you make design decisions in the future.
Here is a video that I show when I lead the Self-Archaeology exercise during design retreats.
At the 2008 Art Center Design Conference in Pasadena, California, Tim Brown, the CEO of IDEO, which is a firm specializing in design and innovation delivered a seminar entitled Serious Play. During his time on stage, Brown made a strong case for the critical connection between play and creativity. As kids, we are free to play. Taking risks without fear of judgement, exploring how ordinary objects can be used in fantastical ways, and seeing potential possibilities are what kids do everyday. Being a kid is being creative. Brown goes on to say that as adults we need to bring back play in the workplace to foster creativity. The key is to create environments based on trust that allow adults to explore divergent thinking through brainstorming to give full range to our ideas and to build environments that encourage thinking by doing, hands-on building, and role playing.
The ideas in Serious Play are exciting. The seminar got me thinking. Should we bring back play only in the workplace? What about home? Building fun environments based on trust to foster creativity in our personal lives could be very powerful. Just a little food for thought.
Living in the West, we are blessed with such material bounty even in hard economic times. Our standard of living is one of the highest in the world. Fabulous things in all shapes and sizes exist to satisfy our every want. Because the possibilities are so endless, our appetites for consuming become bottomless. Wanting more and more, we start losing our sense of reverence for life. The drive to fill our need to consume overtakes our sense of gratitude. Too busy acquiring and labeling, we start to look past the people and things in our lives until they disappear. The next acquisition takes all of our attention and focus. How do we stop taking people and things for granted? How do we come back into balance?
Home is a great way to start noticing the bounty in our lives again. Here are some of my favorite ways to practice reverence:
Start a gratitude journal. By writing down five things that we are grateful for each day, we focus more on abundance and less on lack in our lives. I think that it is a daily practice that could change our lives and fill that need to consume. Have fun picking a journal. I chose one that looks great on an accent table near my favorite chair.
At your next dinner party, think about putting inexpensive, little gifts at each place setting. It is a great way to practice gratitude and show appreciation, but it looks festive too. Friends love to take home party favors. Hunting for little treasures to give without breaking the bank is so much fun. Be creative.
Tie beautiful accent ribbons around favorite letters, postcards, and books that friends and family have given. Use these treasured piles on night stands, end tables, and bookshelves to enjoy every day. It is a decorative way to practice gratitude for the effort of others in our lives.
Living in the West, we are blessed with such material bounty even in hard economic times. Our standard of living is one of the highest in the world. Fabulous things in all shapes and sizes exist to satisfy our every want. Because the possibilities are so endless, our appetites for consuming become bottomless. Wanting more and more, we start losing our sense of reverence for life. The drive to fill our need to consume overtakes our sense of gratitude. Too busy acquiring and labeling, we start to look past the people and things in our lives until they disappear. The next acquisition takes all of our attention and focus. How do we stop taking people and things for granted? How do we come back into balance?
