The Corners We Keep and What We Make Room For

Years ago, I thrifted a copy of The Feng Shui Companion. The aesthetic caught my eye, but it was the inscription that led me to purchase it.

Joseph -

May this book assist you in the talent and passion you possess for turning coal into diamonds.

Thomas

Last month, I finally read it cover to cover. The thing I most connected with was the interdependence of everything in our lives.

Our life force, or Qi, comes from many elements — physical conditions like weather, seasons, and location, relationships with family, friends, and work, politics, culture, and community ties, and even personal health, memories, and beliefs.

Everything is intertwined.

Yet, no person has all the same energies or balance. There’s something beautiful about the universality and uniqueness of the human experience.

Finding this book from 1997 meant for another added a layer to the experience of reading about this ancient Chinese art. Almost as though someone had passed down this wisdom to me.

And I’ve passed it on to my family as we finagled and decluttered our space for ideal energy flow. We appreciated our outdoor cacti as a protective layer, said goodbye to our dried (ahem, dead) flowers, and set citrine crystals in our home’s prosperity corner. It allowed us these quiet moments to invite in knowledge and opportunity.

Anyone can try Feng Shui.

To begin, reflect on where you’re seeking abundance, clarity, or support. Then, using a Bagua Map, place a meaningful object, elemental symbol, or healthy plant in the corresponding areas of your home. The map can also identify places of tension or misalignment, which may spark further reflection. It doesn’t need to stop there.

The book spoke to the physical art of arranging your life with intention — welcoming what nourishes you and releasing what doesn’t. Amidst the physical adjustments, I contemplated emotional edits to my relationships with work and others.

I tend to hold on to sentimental tokens and trinkets by scattering them across my desk. Intuitively, I understood this clutter was visual noise, but I hadn’t appreciated that keeping emotional items could pull me backward instead of forward.

And they were. I’ve been wanting to go back to the person I was when I received these gifts and cards from colleagues. I surrounded myself with them for inspiration, but actually, they made me sad. Removing them was a step toward opening up my career for clarity and flow, both physically and emotionally.

I haven’t been able to stop talking about this book. Curating your energy is an ongoing process, and this is another way to build awareness.

Hi, I’m Courtney. I’ve spent over a decade in tech companies as a Head of People and startup fixer, working directly with founders. My founders have been featured in Fast Company, Fortune, Inc., People, and more.

This was originally published at https://community.evermore.so.