The Professional And The Peaceful Home

Anna Delores_Emily Reiter_1460 (1050x700)

It’s 7:15 a.m. on Monday morning and the fifth alarm that you’ve set on your cell phone is chirping. You’re late. After frantically throwing off the sheets and pulling on a red skirt and lime green top (never mind that they don’t match), you take a cup of reheated joe in the car. Coffee is an adequate breakfast, right? Speed bump. A misshapen brown circle now stains your chest.

It’s 8:30 a.m. as you slide into the morning meeting. Glad that you could join us your boss remarks as they close their laptop and the meeting concludes. Is today over yet? After lunching on an old bag of potato chips that you found stashed in your drawer, you scuffle through your purse for the flash drive that holds your 3:30 p.m. presentation. Oh my gosh, I left it on the kitchen table. Email from your supervisor. You open an attachment that contains a list of to-dos that need to be completed by tomorrow morning.

It’s 7:15 p.m. and you add a fifth exclamation mark to the dinner cancellation text you send your best friend. I can’t do dinner tonight. Still at work, I’m so sorry!!!!! After ordering supper at the drive-thru three hours later, you lug your purse, laptop and mayo-drenched hamburger upstairs and turn the key to your apartment.

Anna Delores_Emily Reiter_1451 (700x1050)

Complete with highs and lows, life is a flurry of unexpected events. Although we can try with all our might to avoid the negative and duck the hard swings, life is out of our control and we must make every effort to prolong and increase the positive.

At the end of long days at work, in the aftermath of arguments with friends or when experiencing discord with family, it can be vital to our well-being that our home be a place of peace. To lead a healthy life, we need a space for rest and relaxation, with every effort exerted to leave a day’s stresses at the door.

We should want to unplug, unwind, de-stress and thrive in our dwelling places. When you first get home at the end of a long day, put down the phone, ignore the laptop and keep the TV off for awhile. Instead, turn on a favorite playlist, light some candles or peruse your go-to magazine. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, allow your mind to be silent and reflect. Peace is individual, so be mindful of what sets you at ease and put it into practice. Maybe that comes in the form of painting, cooking, Pilates, or simply tidying up. Whatever your hobby is, incorporate that and implement it (along with fun and laughter) into each day so that you learn to associate your home with creativity and leisure as opposed to more chaos and clutter.

The outside world is guaranteed to deliver negativity, so the environments within our control should set the tone of the day from the moment we blink our eyes open. For the sake of ourselves and those around us, it’s critical that the place where the heart is be life-giving, replenishing, joyful and at peace.

For if our homes aren’t that way, then where is?

Is it important for you to keep your home a place of rest? How do you do so?

Images via Emily Reiter

Natalie works in the entertainment industry and loves traveling, the art of coffee, writing and deep relationships. Based in Los Angeles, she is passionate about empowering women to achieve their dreams.

9 COMMENTS
  • Sara April 4, 2014

    Oh man, I was really hoping the conclusion of this article was going to tell me how to fix all the earlier disasters & problems & become like a magazine gal. Sigh!

    I suppose I’m comforted to hear other people’s lives are really like that too, at least 🙂 x

  • Olivia April 4, 2014

    I can’t even say how inspiring this post was. I am determined to unplug and set out to make our home even more of a sanctuary. Thank you, Natalie!

  • rachel April 2, 2014

    This is so perfect. My favourite way to unwind is to chuck on some jazz and lounge around, pretending I’m somewhere, and someone entirely different.

  • Emily April 1, 2014

    Such a perfect reminder to have a place to unwind. This is especially difficult when working from home — my couch tends to also be my office. But I’ll be moving into a new place soon, and my aim is to (hopefully) delegate a spot for work and a spot for relaxation.

  • Leanne Lindsey April 1, 2014

    I love this article. It such a powerful reminder of how hectic our lives can get and also how unimportant a lot of the stuff we get overwhelmed by and prioritise really is. Similar to one of the comments, home is my sanctuary too. Most days when I get home I light a scented candle, make a cup of cocoa and write at least 3 pages in my journal. It helps me to detach and make sense of the day. If I’m working from home, this is how I start my day.

  • Jessica Lowe March 31, 2014

    I’m a stay at home mum/ freelance wellness writer/ pioneering a new model of church with my husband. Life is very busy, but we have made it work really well. For me getting to bed early and waking up early is a huge thing. I wake up early and get all my important things done before the day is in swing: exercise etc before my little Arie wakes up. My husband and I have a meeting every friday where we share our schedules and pencil in all the things we need to get done in the week. We include EVERYTHING. Even who is going to clean the toilet and do the shopping. From there we can wake up every morning and see all our priorities in advance for the whole week. It means our house is maintained, our fridge is always stocked with beautiful food, meals are cooked and deadlines are met. This has allowed us to live a very high demand life with a baby, and do it with peace and passion, without letting the important things like family, romance and our health get eaten up. Thanks for the great post!

  • Chef Marlene March 31, 2014

    I love the pictures! There is such a warm tone to them.

  • Leslie Musser March 31, 2014

    This is a beautifully crafted reminder. The peace of a home must be intentional; if we are not consistent, the outside stresses will seep through those thin walls. The comfort of a home rejuvenates us for the driving nature of work and life in general. Even the most outgoing individuals must treat themselves to (forceable) calm to align their mind with proper priorities and goals.

    http://www.onebrassfox.com

  • 'Becca'lise March 31, 2014

    Home is my sanctuary. My favorite ways to unwind are watching old movies (Auntie Mame being my favorite!) and playing my piano.

POST A COMMENT