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I didn’t just wake up one day and start doing feng shui, but I did, for quite a long time, organize lives. I did this long before I set eyes on a bagua map. It was my job to organize very big, busy lives.

We all have big lives, and in these big lives in particular there were many complicated puzzle pieces to fit together every day. Yes, in my former life as the organizing force for major major executives (Superwoman-style administration)I had the somewhat game-changing realization that more money doesn’t make things easier.

In fact, it’s the opposite.

That sort of blew apart my idea that getting money was the key to freedom and building a solid dream into a reality.

To a degree it does make things easier to have more money.

In fact, there are studies that show exactly how much money will increase happiness depending on where you live.  HERE is the chart for the US and I’m sure no matter where you live you can estimate where you fall in the range. Pass that point and it’s not happiness or peace that you’ll likely derive purely from money or stuff…

Money is awesome. So are things. And you should have whatever you want. But it’s not the thing that allowed these lives to expand.

There’s something else I learned from these years of juggling and scheduling and creating minor miracles all day in the service of keeping other people’s lives together. It’s a huge part of feng shui in my way. It’s an enormous part of successful lives…

And it’s not glamorous.

But it makes everything expand… hugely… and it shapes priorities and brings wellness and it’s pretty much the not-so-secret secret to growing anything I’ve seen. 
Maintenance.

Maintaining relationships. Maintaining exercise routines. Maintaining schedules. Maintaining diets. Keeping up practices. Keeping up blogs. Making priorities a real thing.

I told you it wasn’t glamorous.

It can be fun though, if you see the value in it.

What are you not maintaining well?

In your house, what condition are the things that need upkeep? Today I’m washing my vacuum. Yes, it gets washed every few months. The windows should, too. Twice a week, at minimum, the sheets get washed…

House “keeping” is all maintenance.

When I’m in a space with people who feel overwhelmed you see it in the condition of things everywhere. Broken, not cleaned, cluttered, piled up, stagnant.

Work ethics are the same. Maintaining what works, getting rid of what doesn’t, getting better and working smarter…

Wellness: ditto. Yes, I’m sure a cleanse or another temporary diet immersion is beneficial, but not if you go back to a diet that wears on you a week or a month later. Maintining weight loss seems to be the hugest challenge.

Here’s what I’ve observed:

People who feel worthy of great things will maintain them. It’s pretty simple.

If they’re too busy, they’ll find- or hire- help to maintain them.

If you are having trouble maintaining the things that matter…

Immerse yourself in self-love.

Do all the things that make you feel fantastic. I’ve been known to hide away in salt saunas and take staycations with the dogs and get inordinate amounts of coconut milk ice cream (all three tend to balance out!) in the service of finding my center when I’m stuck. I also sit for hours in my Buddhist temple and chant. That’s my way.

Once I feel better- and much more ready to tackle things- it becomes clear that maintaining whatever I’m struggling with better is the key to making everything better.

Find your way to indulge in the self-care you deserve greatly. Then re-visit the space where things are a bit of a mess.

Can you find a way to maintain an area where you’re struggling just a little better? 

Can you see how maintaining your money is a part of self-love? How about housecleaning? Time alone? Health programs ? Spiritual practice…? (It’s called practice for a reason: you don’t do it once and have everything stay perfect forever) What about your relationships?

Can you find a plan to make this maintenance flow in your life without drudgery? 

It’s not so bad to clean house with music (or long phone conversations, my preferred way)… It’s not so horrible to exercise when you love the exercise or – at least- love the gym… Believe me, there’s always a way to make situations more enjoyable, and you’ll really do it if you dig it… so dream up a way to make it all work for you…

Embrace the process. It’s never ending, so it’s far better not to push against it…!

We’ll always need to maintain things. And it should be a source of pride, not an exercise in torture.

When you have things dialed in and maintained on a schedule and in a way that feels great, suddenly all that overwhelm melts away and you have space for more and more.

This is where maintenance actually creates freedom…and huge lives and huge wellness and huge peace and huge dreams.

xoxo Dana

P.S.: The Love Camp is coming (!!!) to transform life with so much more love! It’s the ultimate in Feng Shui to multiply your manifesting magic.

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