Radical Permission
Or, How to Feel More At Home
We don’t have to be world experts, to see things aren’t going well. As the systems that once felt like givens shake our solid ground, the time is ripe to feel as good and steady as possible where we can—at home.
This is not about spending more money, though no one loves outrageously expensive home design content more than I, and sometimes deploying cash is a strategy that can enhance the experience of your daily life. But that method is off the table for me currently: I’ve been on a purchase pause for over a year now (more on this in a later letter).
And this is, dare I say it, deeper. Feeling at home is an inside job. My at home is not going to be the same as yours, or even, more complexly, my husband’s.
In some ways, the dire diagnosis of our contemporary culture as terminally ill can shock and liberate us into valuing new ideas, new ways of being, new sources of excellence. Like, maybe emotional intelligence truly should be celebrated. And maybe care really is an art form. Maybe the more at home we each are individually, the more sustaining and supportive we can all be to the collective.
So how do we cultivate and grow our sense of feeling at home?
That’s what this yearlong project will explore. We’ll pay attention to how our spaces make us feel and how they look; how we use them and how we wish to use them. We’ll reflect on our connections to the people and creatures we live with, pay attention to our wildest dreams, and remember and tend to our inner child’s sense of fun. We’ll rearrange the furniture (my absolute favorite hobby), and reframe some art and thoughts. We’ll light the candles and cultivate idiosyncratic rituals. We’ll set boundaries and practice quitting. We’ll question our old beliefs and patterns of being. We’ll look to experts, brainstorm, write, reimagine, and ask for guidance from those closest to us.
