Fall is here and change is in the air. The days are getting shorter again and the nights are a little colder. A new school year is underway and I am starting a new job this week. Design projects are buzzing with a life of their own and creativity and abundance are all around. It’s up to us, though, to slow down and appreciate this beauty that is all around.

My mission at Studio CO is to “slow down, design with mindful intention and cultivate deeper connections” — and to bring this philosophy into your home, your work space, your gathering spaces, etc. - so let’s break it down.

Taking time for silence restores the nervous system, helps sustain energy, and conditions our minds to be more adaptive and responsive to the complex environments.

It can be exhausting striving for perfection, or believing everything we see on Instagram to actually be real (it’s not eve close), or trying to fit ourselves into molds that we were never meant to belong in (I’m looking at you, capitalism).

But it feels really good when we are quiet and present enough to just notice and love all the ordinary, beautiful things around us.

We all know the old saying, when one door closes another opens. Some doors close whether we are ready for them to close or not and yes - at best - maybe this is the universe pointing us in another direction. Maybe this is divine intervention and we should just trust the process.

But what about the doors we are meant to close ourselves, for ourselves? What do we stand to gain when we recognize it’s time to set our own boundary (physically, mentally or otherwise), and close a door (literally or figuratively)?

The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off. (Gloria Steinem)

So how do we move from pissed off to free? We learn to let go. I think that’s part of it.