How Fast Fashion, IKEA, and Amazon Are Slowly Killing Our Spirit
The Self Before the World Got a Hold of Us
In the work of healing, we begin returning to our true selves: the self before society got a hold of us. The self that came before we were told who to be. The child that flowed with the wind, was curious about life. Asked questions. Listened to the bird songs and the sound of the flowing creek, how the leaves rustled in the wind.
The one that wanted to know why? Why are the clouds painted across the sky? How are the birds able to fly? The one that believed in fairy tales of magic and wonder.
When did we lose that?
When did we lose the ability to be curious about our world and see beauty everywhere? To dance without fear of who was watching and what they would think of us. When we were free. Free to be ourselves.
Then, the weight of the world came crashing down. And our parents, culture, and society told us that the tales were just that, and we couldn't actually fly, or levitate things, or dance with the elements, that there are more important things to worry about. That in order to be a successful adult we have to put all of those things aside and get a job, behave this way and that. That certain parts of ourselves were not acceptable in society and should be locked away in a box, never to be opened again.
That we should own this thing or that to be seen as an upstanding member of society. And somewhere along the way we lost our wonder, our ability to dream.
The Return to Dreaming
Well here we say its time to throw all of that away. And if you're here you feel that too. Something is calling you back home to yourself, back to the version of yourself that knew how to dream, that knows that there's more to life than this. That wants to remember the way you saw the world as a child, full of color and life and connection.
The way we consume as a society is a problem. The fast fashion. The cookie cutter home decor. The ways we buy things that have no meaning because we're searching for something. We're searching for meaning, for connection, for wholeness. Yet, when we buy these things we might get the initial dopamine hit, but then it falls flat shortly after.
The dopamine fades and the forms show their hollowness. We realize they are made in some factory somewhere by people we'll never meet and in places we'll never know. That there was no care, or love put into them and you can tell by how poorly they're constructed or how they feel in your hands. The life is drained from them. Sure you can go on Amazon and buy a bookshelf and it'll arrive in 3 days or less but when it gets to your home you can feel that something is missing.
We Feel Our Way Through the World
In this human experience we are tactile, visual, feeling people whether you identify with that sentiment or not. Its innate to our being. It reminds us we're alive. It's the reason we want to touch things and smell them. Why something gifted from someone feels more special than if you were to just buy it yourself.
It's why when you walk into a room you can feel if someone has just been in an argument. It's why you will sometimes gravitate towards things or people without a logical explanation. We feel our way through this world. The child that seeks beauty is still alive and well within us.
And so when our homes are filled with hollow items, devoid of deeper meaning we can feel hollow inside, disconnected from this crucial aspect of ourselves. Our homes are an extension of us. It is us and holds the same energy. It illuminates our inner world, splattered about like paint on a canvas. This is the deeper meaning behind the phrase, 'As within, so without.'
What the Garden Taught Me
I remember clear as day, many years ago when I visited one of the farmers I work with for the first time. I have a strong relationship with the plant spirits, so I like to visit my growers, get to know the land stewards and the specific plants themselves before making medicine with them as a healer. I remember I visited an elder grower with a community garden in Tennessee and from the first time I stepped foot on that land it was like I could tell all of the feelings she was working through and the state of her inner landscape, just by what plants decided to colonize her garden.
It felt quite intimate honestly to witness a near stranger in this way. She grows her garden in the ways of our ancestors and allows the plants to grow free without tilling, weeding, or planting them in rows.
I noticed that she must have just experienced a profound loss and was undergoing deep grief by how Mullein had taken over much of the garden landscape, as Mullein is an ally for the lungs where our grief is stored. There was passionflower vining along the perimeter of the garden and threatening to take down the fence and the roof of the shed, when passionflower is an ally for anxiety and being in the body, connected to our power, and rooted in the present moment. And red clover growing abundantly for the heart. And many other plants of the like.
We had a beautiful talk and she shared the deep grief she had been feeling from her brother's passing in the last year and I shared with her that the medicinal plants were there to help her and how her feelings were illuminated across the landscape.
Our Homes Mirror Us Back to Ourselves
Our homes are the exact same way. They mirror us. They reveal us to ourselves when we're able to slow down enough to look.
When our homes are cluttered, our minds are cluttered. When we feel sad, its as if our home is reflecting that same sadness and hopelessness back to us. We have flimsy items from Amazon, hollow Target finds, and we wonder why we can't muster up the energy to do this, that, or the other.
Have you ever noticed that when your home is clean you feel better? It's like you have a burst of energy, your mind is clearer. You can finally sit back and open that book you've been meaning to read. It's the same concept.
Beauty Helps Us Become Resourced
Our spaces have a HUGE impact on how we feel and when we make our homes look good and adorn our bodies, our temple, we feel it. We move with more confidence and vigor. We feel alive and nourished. We feel like we can tackle the challenges of the day. We feel resourced.
And one thing we really focus on here at VESSELA LUMINA is that its hard to want to leave stagnation or make change in your life if:
- you cant visualize this new way of being and
- you aren't resourced enough to birth it into reality
If we are to remember who we are and not fall into negative thoughts about ourselves and our lives, if we are seeking change and to improve our situation—whether its birthing a new idea into being, starting a new job, bringing in financial abundance, moving to a new place or any other big life transition—we need all of the support we can get. And a stagnant home space can help you or hinder you in this pursuit.
If we are calling in a higher, happier version of ourselves, more confident and in tune with our inherent divinity, then the objects in our home have to reflect that back to us. They have to help us remember who we are when we fall into forgetfulness or despair. If what we own doesn't reflect who we are becoming or remembering ourselves to be, then it needs to go.
The Devotional Purpose of VESSELA LUMINA
At VESSELA LUMINA, in our small corner of the world, we're devoted to helping people become resourced. To reminding us all of the importance of beauty and joy in life, in building the lives of our dreams. If we can't see it externally, we can't be it internally.
If our space and items we own do not reflect our Divinity back to us, it is hard for us to see ourselves as the Divine creator beings we are. If we don't adorn our bodies like the temple's they are, then they wont feel like temples. If we don't buy items fit for a King or a Queen, we won't feel like the regal beings that we are.
Here all items are intentional. Every piece begins as ritual prayer with a specific energetic signature, whether that be expansion and road clearing, heart-opening, ancestral connection, inner child healing, or the embodiment of the completion of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. All of our journals, throw blankets, pillow covers, bags, and other textiles hold the frequencies and codes for remembering who you are.
For making your life an altar.
Watch the Visual Essay on YouTube (coming soon)
If these words stirred something in you, you’re invited to experience the full reflection as a cinematic visual meditation from VESSELA LUMINA. The visual essay for this piece is coming soon, in the meantime you can view our visual essay on the intention behind our Evolve collection below.
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