There is no bad feng shui house

A lot of people believe they cannot be happy until the house changes. Redecorate. Renovate. Buy better furniture. Or sell up and start again somewhere with more light. Happiness is always in the next house, just around the corner.

Often they have read a little feng shui and decided that the house they are in is a bad one.

There is no bad feng shui house.

You are in the home you are in, at this point in your life, for a reason. When I do a full audit of a home, the most awkward part of it is nearly always the part its owner stands to learn the most from. The work of putting that corner right is where the growth is.

So before you call the real estate agent, try these three things where you are.

First, look around and be grateful

Whatever shape it is in, however it is decorated and wherever it sits, your home is a roof over your head. It is warm and it is yours to come back to. A great many people in the world would trade places with you tomorrow.

Thank your house. Out loud, if nobody is in. Thank it for the good rooms and for its quirks.

Second, clear it

Much of what we call happiness is really a feeling of lightness. You are not rushed, hemmed in or stuck. That feeling comes from a place that is clean and clear, with as much sun and fresh air coming in as you can manage. Square footage has very little to do with it.

After 50 this gets easier and harder at once. Easier, because fewer people live in the house. Harder, because thirty years of their things still do.

Start anyway. One shelf is a start. Then put on some music you love and open a window.

Third, look at who is in it

Feng shui for the soul works the same way as feng shui for the house. You clear the space, and then you are careful about what you let back in.

Spend your time with the friends who leave you feeling lighter. Spend less of it with the people who pull you down or leave you feeling you do not deserve much. You are allowed to make that choice.

A small one for today

The next time you say thank you to somebody, stop for a second and say it as if you mean it. You will give them a small moment of happiness, and you will get one back.

Happiness is a choice, and you can make it in the house you already have.

From the archive. First written for my journal years ago, and rewritten for life after 50.