Painted Houses on wood

I’m in a short hiatus from my “Hello Soul, Hello Business” e-class. My fellow students and I are taking the time to go over our ideas and core values before resuming with actions to bring our visions to reality. As I refine my direction, I know I want to not only have fun and make great art, but serve you and my community with my art. So many creative ideas are swirling…it’s overwhelming! But one word keeps surfacing again and again: Home.

What is a home?

A structure, a shelter, a place to put your stuff, store your life, sleep.

It’s a place where you reside, hopefully with those you love. Some inhabitants have been there from the beginning, helping to establish your home. Others you invited, relishing the time they spent with you. Some stumbled in on their own, but you loved them and made them family. Some visit and then leave again. Some didn’t fit and you did’t invite them back.

Each transforms you as they move through your doors, sit on your couches or share your food. You make your home but then it starts to make you. Like children, it forms its own personality around those who knock on your door. Have you been conscious about who you let in?

What do you want your home to be? To say about you? How do you want to feel when you’re in it? Does it stress you out, or does it nurture you? Do your co-dwellers feel loved, or do they use the walls to separate themselves from each other? Do you make the effort to open those doors within the walls? Do you cherish the space?

What story does your home tell? Is it the one you want it to tell?