So, here we are at the final week of the month-long “4 Rooms” experiment. To recap, I’ve been having a season of “spiritual housecleaning” spurred by Rumer Godden’s observation that “Everyone is a house of four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.” Facing the fact that my own life had gotten badly out of balance (and realizing that the rooms needed a good spring clean from ceiling to baseboards!), I made a commitment to work at “airing out” each of these four rooms every day for four weeks and encouraged you to do the same thing.
This final week was marked by my attending my college reunion and that turned out to involve all Four Rooms. I was glad I was on the lookout for that.
For the physical room this past week, I’ve worked in gentle exercise more – mostly in the form of deliberate walking to do errands instead of taking the car or to have measured exercise for my current Virtual Race. But I’ve also stepped into this room with nutritious food and flavorful favorites. At my reunion, that included dancing at a “Silent Disco” where dozens of people were dancing in a darkened room to one of three stations, indicated by different colors of lights on their headphones. Add glowsticks and it’s a little trippy at first. But I have to admit that it was also a LOT of fun – and it’s something that I might not have tried but for this 4 Rooms challenge.
Exploring the mental room, I’ve continued putting “puzzles with coffee” into my morning routine. I now actually get a little itchy if I skip those. I’d still like to spend a few more minutes on my French lessons on Duolingo, but that’ll come with additional practice. And at reunion, I was able to give our oldest alumna in attendance (Class of 1944!) her dropped hat with a dashing, “Ton chapeau, madame,” which I at least think was correct!
The emotional room – wow, was this one filled to overflowing at reunion. I also made time to see an old favorite (1994’s The Crow, which was back in a theatre close by for one night only. I loved that movie in 1994 – madly and deeply), but really – this room was all about reunion. Seeing and reconnecting with old friends who knew me when I was still trying to figure out my values and traits, connecting with people I didn’t even know that well at the time, and meeting these wonderful, vibrant current students who were serving as our guides and aides-de-camp. I did some Good Things in college that continue to send out ripples of positivity and it did my heart good to see that.
The spiritual room had some new furniture this week. I went to a yoga class that was more reiki-focused (which I’d never done), I saw the student service organization known as “Freya” walk on campus, I learned about “earth altars” and spied several on campus (including the one I have at the top of this post) and I added a painted tone for my mother to the remembrance garden. Once I got back home, I also carved out time to see the local artist exhibit at the Arts Council.
Overall, I’ve noticed myself pausing more every day to take stock of my surroundings. I feel better (more centered, more balanced, and far more able to thoughtfully respond instead of rushing to react) when I’ve stepped into each room. Godden is most certainly on to something here. In my search for balance, Godden’s “4 Rooms” approach is a good, down-to-earth tool to use and I encourage you to give it a try.
It is high summer now in my small town – perfect for Diva living! Make your plan to live lushly and with savoir faire, Divas!
My school’s motto is Levavi Oculos, meaning “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills.” It’s from the very beautiful Psalm 121. Nestled as we are in the mountains of southwest Virginia, it’s completely appropriate. It’s also good advice in a much larger sense – go on, now. Get out and play.
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