Can you believe this ceiling? It’s part of the Boulder Teahouse, a building originally from Tajikistan that was shipped to CO in pieces and re-constructed. Sitting in that environment with my daughter Laura and my recently graduated grandson, Simon, I wondered what it would be like to live in a culture so steeped in beauty that it is all around you and in you. I imagine, perhaps with too much romanticism, that it would be more difficult to be cruel or thoughtless if you were surrounded by evidence of human creativity and crafstmanship. And, perhaps it would be harder to get lulled to sleep than it is entering a shopping center that looks like any other shopping center in the country.
If it sounds like I’m an architectural snob, I admit this is probably true. I’m in California right now, where architecture in certain areas has been preserved and maintained and honored. I love wandering past Craftsman and Victorian houses, admiring the romantic Spanish colonials and appreciating how the landscaping frames and enhances the buildings. Architecture is part of our highest human expression. To me, dull and repetitive architecture is a sign that the creative spirit has gone to sleep or is not being honored. What happens to a society that has stopped valuing beauty in our surroundings?
We don’t have to be part of that trend. No matter where you live, you can use your imagination and creativity to enhance your nest. What are new ways to put together your belongings that will be an expression of you and your appreciation for beauty? Just the exercise of thinking about this can fire up your awareness and your creativity. When that’s at work, other things in your life can change as well, because you will be awake as a creative being.
What can you take away or add or re-arrange? I’d love to hear your ideas and solutions!
