"To Every Season...turn, turn."

Happy Fall everyone,

Leaves are starting to turn, the pumpkins are stacking up in front of supermarkets, Starbucks is churning out their spicy cinnamon concoctions and for many of us, that cool crisp snap in the air, means fall is well underway.

Where DID the summer go?

Well, for a while there, my time was monopolized with trying to get to the truth of things. I was simply trying to do a recap of the litany of issues pummeling this country. If only to park it somewhere in the back of my brain so that I could get back to being positive, which is and always will be, my own responsibility.

Find the truth, embrace the facts, search for the gratitude, then return to emanating from the creative soul versus the fearful self.

Thank heavens I’ve finally finished a deeper dive. It's time-consuming and complex which, I'm sure, is why a huge percentage of this country simply refuses to do their homework. It's easier to blindly click-hate rather then illuminate.

I spent a lot of time recently seeking pointed consultation amongst great impartial minds which, I thankfully still have access to...and respect. Their collective politically-free brainpower has, thankfully, quieted my fear and reminded me that the overwhelming power-grab that continues to divide this country is, in the end, being driven mostly by those afraid of the kind of change that comes with actual tolerance and true inclusiveness.

As one searches for the truth, it’s sobering. Yet, we have to be patient because historically, there’s always been a very long lag time between "WOKE" and the awkward, confusing and bewildering interim purgatory we find ourselves in. But have no fear in the end this will all create a very hard-won, but very positive seismic shift for our species at large.

As half this country is focused on the collective fate of America as a corporate “GLOBAL BRAND,” this is the time for the rest of us to examine our individual concepts of what “freedom, freedom of speech and quality of life really means to each and every one of us, today. Now, has less to do with “collective unity and support” and a lot more to do with individual personal choice, spiritual clarity and the empathy required to learn a new kind of "grace" under our respective roofs.”

I guess however, there is some immediate the good news here too.

While there’s enough chaos and distraction swirling around us, now (still cloaked under the radar screen) is the ideal time to take stock and begin to establish new criteria for what quality of life actually means now.

We can either spend this pivotal moment clinging to a vanished past (spewing hate because we’re angry about life encroaching on our once-predictable, but narrow little comfort-zones). Or we can embrace the opportunity to be part of something much more important.

It’s not easy, I know! Thousands of you have shared with me as you've followed my own efforts to pull up my big boy boxers and start fresh from what I know now. Thank heavens, I have reinvented and re-traced my belief system on an annual basis so, I no longer have to go back to square one.

Once we finally stop wasting time over what no longer “is” and start to create a stronger inner world, it allows us take action.

That clarity gave me the renewed energy to revamp my own website with new, free tools like our Room Recipes, Ask Christopher Videos, and a new private forum for members to ask me questions.

Oh about that......

Please be patient. We’ve been inundated and are working hard to respond quicker. Since we’ve removed many of the past income-generating mechanisms (in order to keep our site cyber-safe and the haters out) we're a bit short-handed. Still, I hope Christopher Lowell Home and Lifestyle Lab is providing you the little, extra motivation to redirect that negative energy into something more positive.

No matter how you cut it, we’ve all experiencing a form of national PSD. We can either let it block the greatest stress “antidote” we have (our personal creativity) or we can get busy learning how to use that creativity to live far more intentionally, in the space we call home.

As life changes, so must our daily lifestyles. This includes shifting our thinking away from formal interior design mandates and start thinking a lot more intimately about where we park our hearts.

Up until now, formal interior design magazines like Architectural Digest have always been to "home", what Vogue is to "fashion," Sure, these interiors have been cool to look at, dramatic and theatrical as all get out (and perhaps a guilty pleasure as we peek in on lives that can spend $200.00 on a yard of fabric for in extra room they'll never use).

Now, the kinds of homes we need to emulate are a lot harder to photograph. They are no longer about 'the stuff', but the intent. They can no longer just be “art installations” but now must be intently more personal, nurturing extensions of our inner spirit.

As in any war time, commercial resources get rationed. But if you've followed me, you know that consignments and thrift stores are now the new "retail" and are brimming with new and even better elements to tell your new more unique story. Your only job is to figure out what the new, emotional narrative now is. ---A scenario that will feed your soul in a very different way. It’s about using one’s creativity to elevate the simple essentials into meaningful solutions that directly touch one’s new life, every single day.

It’s time to:

--- Start the purging process that unburdens you of the stuff that you know for sure, adds no real quality to your daily life.

---Refocus on better space planning that serves YOU first and foremost. Not the fantasy ghost guests that you’ve been accommodating out of social appropriateness. Remember, it’s now about being gut honest and super clever...and no longer about how the rest of the world thinks you should live. You don’t need “their” approval to more uniquely customize how you now want to exist now.

It’s time to:

---Introduce yourself to less conventional resources where you can not only turn your old stuff into new cash but, also find the next treasures that can affordably and more accurately tell your NEW story.

---Acknowledge that you absolutely should have nice things. Just fewer of them. Indeed, you should have quality items that aesthetically please you too. But now, they should also really serve an even greater utilitarian, dual function mandate, as well.

---Understand that everything you own takes up square footage, an inch at a time. It’s robbing you of actual living space you’ll really need now. Remember, that stuff you no longer care about is still costing you. Is its rent, for doing nothing, still worth it?

---Really grasp that antiquated choices need to go buh-bye now. It’s no longer about having a “showcase home.” It’s about decluttering and purging your home of everything that robs it (and ultimately you) of a better sense of harmony. It’s about paring down to only the stuff that makes you truly happy day in and day out. Your home now has to become your unique little oasis--- a welcome port and a new fortress against all the chaos happening beyond your front door.

Try to better filter out incoming news. In confusing times, we can obsess with every 'ping' on our smart phones. 24/7 news cycles are working overtime to click bate you wherever they can. Sadly, hate gets more reaction than love so it's paying the bills for a lot of social media platforms who have recently come under fire, as a result.

Instead, start curating content that uplifts, inspires and educates because it will be increasingly vital to keeping one’s sanity and equilibrium.

Lastly, know that every good change you make under your roof, no matter how mundane, tedious or seemingly frivolous, ISN’T.

You’re setting up a new emotional base camp now, from a whole new set of needs and priorities. So, re-claim or instigate the ceremonial icons and new routines that will now trigger a sense of joy.

I know for me, it’s little things.

Food: My pots of fresh herbs growing on my windowsill, a fresh baked loaf of bread and a fully reorganized food pantry. It reminds me of the blessings I can often take for granted.

Shelter: It's about getting rid of everything that I used to only "put up" with, as a "place-holder," but no longer either tells my new story accurately or feeds me visually. As I continue to really study how I live, I'm making new lists. I now find myself not at home decor stores, but at the hardware store looking for the stuff that can make my home 'pamper' me better. ---A soft white LED bulb, a hook for the back of a door, a better charging station solution, a tabletop dimmer, a few more pairs of scissors in the right places, a new organizer for under the bathroom sink that, til now, has been a Bermuda triangle.

Design: Thanks to thrift and consignment shops, I'm upgrading and detailing now that I have fewer things. I'm replacing the so-so 'thing' from Target, with the real (pre-owned) thing I found on my last excursion. You know...when people made things better and with more character?

Media: Good luck with your emancipation Britney Spears. Here's to you all trying to keep the 30-year mismanaged country open. Here's to the product update I couldn't care less about. And no, I don't want to know what you ate or who you hate, you social media folks. If you can't inspire me than don't waste my time. I'm done with the click-bait pings. I have plenty of things to do within my local community that will actually make a difference.

Ok, Netflix, you can still let me know when the next episode of The Great British Baking Show is up. And it's ok if you TedTalks folks think a new insight into the the nature of faith, our planet's evolution or a new slant on humanity might be interesting to me.

But that's it. New day, new times, new topics!

With all the subterfuge and distractions going on, let’s use this pivotal "under the radar screen" time to finally rid ourselves of things that supported old narratives.

Now is the time to make space for new possibilities that give us the courage to unpack old ideas and reinvent our new lives.

We can do it!

Later,

CL