Blue Door Feng Shui

So I'm painting the house. I've been feeling quite down for some time, and decided to cheer myself up by painting my front door sky-blue. Did it help? I believe it did. I am much more cheerful now, and every time I come home I feel very happy on seeing my blue door. I love the way the seaside daisies pop up in front of it. 

Note: it may be circumstances other than the blue door that increased my well-being. But I am sure the blue door was a factor. 

I like playing about with the concepts of feng shui. Not the specific rules of Chinese feng shui, which after all, is not my culture, but the idea behind it, that our surroundings, and what we choose to put in our homes, has symbolic and practical significance, and therefore can influence our lives. I chose the happiest colour I can think of, sky-blue, and that link in my mind between happiness and bright blue conspires to lift my spirits whenever I see it. 

I like to have things at the front door that signify what I want to bring into the house. The blue door reminds me of happiness. The bells that hang next to it also bring me happiness, and the sound of the bells ringing at the front door and bringing visitors gives me much joy (more or less depending on how much of a hermit I am that day, and whether I am at a good bit in my book). Inside the door is the bench that Paul built for me, with seedlings and plants galore. For me, plants signify a lush abundance, vitality and more joy. And gratitude. How lucky am I to have plants that want to live in my house? Finding the exact spot where a plant wants to live is like winning the lottery. 

All of these plants love the sun of this little glasshouse front porch, and some need more water than others. The jade plants, for instance, want watering twice a week. I am attempting to grow ginger in here too. I planted it too late this year, not until January, midsummer, when I should have put it in in spring, but it is leafing up valiantly. It, too, seems to appreciate water twice a week. Almost all the plants in this space were grown from cuttings, or given to me by Red, who had to take most of the plants out of their room because the cat likes to chew on plants. Having such riches of plants in the front porch is a reminder that good things come as gifts, as cast-offs, as an abundant by-product of the earth we live on. Gratitude for life's abundance is a good way in which to enter a house, I think.

There are no lights in the front porch, and last week I put up some strings of fairy lights that Red didn't want anymore. They don't shed a lot of light, just twinkles in the darkness. I am sure that is symbolic but I am still working on what it might be symbolic of. Here is another fact about the front porch. I hardly ever sweep it. I sweep the kitchen (occasionally), then run out of enthusiasm. The front porch is very dirty and full of cobwebs, none of which really worries me at all. In traditional feng shui the front door is the entrance point for chi, or life force, hence it being important to keep the threshold clean and clear of clutter. My life force is no doubt grubby and festooned with cobwebs, although with added fairy lights and cheery plants. I am hoping to distract the chi with the sunny blue door so it doesn't notice all the dirt.

Tell me about your front door. Do you love it, or like me, have you thought about pepping it up? What qualities would you choose for your the entrance to your house? A traditional threshold symbol in many cultures is a protective sign or amulet, and another one is a symbol of abundance, such as the jade plant. Wind chimes are popular for catching and propelling chi through the house. I have a wind chime in my back porch. I'm not sure what it is doing for my chi, but when I hear its quietly chiming, as if it's talking to itself, it always lifts my mood. I love it especially because it is made of old forks. I bought it at a local market maybe twenty years ago and I love that it was handmade and upcycled.

Now, I know that what you all want is to hear how Paul is doing - and the answer is, he is very well. He has been working madly to get a project done, and is off in Victoria this very minute installing it. The really excellent news is that he has put all the weight back on that he lost after surgery and chemo, and looks very fit and well. Such a relief to everyone, especially me and his mother:)

Love to you all on this sunny Monday afternoon in Tasmania xx