HOUSE PLAY
a study in the mundane / by paige harte-rivera VOL. 6 | HARVEST 2021
INTENTION
It’s harvest season, when we are able to collect the fruits of our labor. What we have spent months preparing for and will sustain us for the winter ahead. Take a look back at the year you’ve had. Coming out of 2020, still very much in a pandemic, how has your life changed? What have you implemented, in order to support yourself?
In Feng Shui, this time of year is ruled by the metal element which supports joy & creativity. This particular newsletter has been the most difficult one for me to write. Maybe because joy is such a new feeling for me. It wasn’t until I consistently started choosing myself that I was able to experience what it felt like to be happy in life. It took 33 years. I remember when it clicked: it was this time last year, when all the work I had been doing on myself finally started to shift into deep, tangible results. And through it, House Play started to take form. I learned how much control I actually had; that I was able to create this thing within myself & have it reflected in my life.
I founded House Play with the intention to produce more joy in the everyday. I have learned to nurture myself & others with seemingly ordinary things, that when utilized, create mindfulness and crack you open into a wonder of possibilities. The internal work I do requires constant attention in order for me to maintain balance. But, it’s building more and more, becoming engrained. It’s a continuous cycle of planting seeds, tending to & harvesting, actively creating the life I want.
Then what is good? The obsessive interest in human affairs, plus a certain amount of compassion and moral conviction, that first made the experience of living something that must be translated into pigment or music or bodily movement or poetry or prose or anything that’s dynamic and expressive—that’s what’s good for you if you’re at all serious in your aims. William Saroyan wrote a great play on this theme, that purity of heart is the one success worth having. “In the time of your life—live!” That time is short and it doesn’t return again. It is slipping away while I write this and while you read it, and the monosyllable of the clock is Loss, loss, loss, unless you devote your heart to its opposition.
The Catastrophe of Success by Tennessee Williams via The Glass Menagerie
JOY / METAL
Creativity. Virtue. Children. Reflective. Communication. Completion.
Creativity is an original representation of you. It is your birth, your expression. I like this idea that you can create joy. But, in my case, and maybe in others, I have found that I have to work relentlessly for it. But, isn’t it worth it?
The metal element provides a reflection to turn inwards.
When out of balance, metal is shy, with a choked feeling. This manifested itself strongly in me. For almost two years, every morning I would wake up and start gagging. I felt like I couldn’t breath; I felt like I was going to get sick - sometimes I did.
Most of us have a lot more control over our lives than we give ourselves credit. This can be a frustrating realization, but can also be very empowering. When you understand that no one is going to save you, you have to take action into your own hands.
Take some time to reflect; on yourself, your patterns, where you are in life, where you’ve come from & where you want to go. Talk it out. Write it out. State your needs & take action. Create the life you want.
How do you create joy? How do you feel when you are filled with joy? And, when not? Notice what is being communicated to you. Information comes in many forms.
PLS TRY @ HOME
POLISH : in most homes, a lot of the metal will come from the appliances. when was the last time you cleaned the sides of your fridge or oven? pull them out, if possible. do a deep clean inside, outside, on top & below. did you know that you can clean the filter of your dishwasher? a quick google search will teach you how. get those metal elements shiny! clean your jewelry, your car.
COMMUNICATE : what is your home telling you? does it feel loved and safe for those that are in it? is it clean, easy to walk through? does it need some repairs or dusting? empower clear communication through observation & listening / take action by making adjustments wherever necessary.
MIRRORS : in the home, mirrors double everything. does yours reflect a clean & tidy home, filled with purpose? or, can you barely see your dirty laundry on the floor because the mirror is covered in dust?
METAL ELEMENT
Round Shapes. White, Grey & Metallic Colors. Actual Metal.
Metal supports communication, helpful people, creativity, joy, travel & children. Take care of the metal in your home to strengthen these areas.
5 PHASES
When I started to truly create & experience joy in my life, 5 phases were revealed to me.
TRUST / LET GO / HEALING / RECEIVE WHOLENESS
I have always been interested in the deep crevices of life. Exploring things that live inside of us that need expression. Finding inlets & outlets. I believe that in these investigations lies growth; where we can experience amazement & harmony, in this endlessly complicated world.
Lately, I have felt stuck. So, I looked at what I had been resisting. Because, even if I don’t have all the answers, I usually have one. And, that one, if & when I listen, will lead me to another. When we pull out that thing that we don’t want to, and we do what we need to do with it: we clean it, we release it, we love it, we get to know it; it frees up space to heal. We heal to receive. Then, we are shown our next step. The Process unfolds again & again. New layers get revealed. I am in it now, I’ll be in it again. And, in House Play are the tools that get me through it.
let’s work together
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