Lifestyle Lifesavers: Build Your Own Campfire…Indoors!
Written by Christine Eisner Wednesday, January 18 2012
Whether you live single, with roommates or as a family, there really is 'no place like home' – especially if that home is a true reflection of those who live there. Like most anything worthwhile, creating “home” takes a bit of time and effort, but with some practical tools - including a campfire or two - and a focus on what is in your heart, it doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. In fact, the process itself feeds the soul!
Just as you feel content and rejuvenated sitting before a crackling fire in the evening, you can recreate that warm glow throughout your home and your life.
After decades of “bigger is better,” it is becoming evident that “less” may be the key to true quality of life. Made up of objects, routines and even living things, Comfort Living Campfires have the power to energize the moments that make up life. These modern day campfires exist when objects and ideas come together intentionally to create a sense of well-being, comfort and community.
In earlier days, campfires were a necessity — a source of warmth and sustenance. Campfires are just as important today, because ultimately they draw us in and nourish our souls - an essential ingredient of a life well lived.
You may not know it, but there is a very good reason that everyone always ends up in the kitchen. A kitchen is an irresistible campfire that invites you in… So what about creating campfires in other parts of your home – and in other parts of your life?
Campfires do not have to be elaborate to work and creating them is easy, but you do need to be intentional about it.
3 Easy Campfires for a More Balanced Lifestyle
1. A Mealtime Campfire:
Instead of stand-up meals or eating from take-out containers, create a campfire for enjoying food. This is as simple as pre-setting the table with forks and knives, placemats, napkins and candles. This setting becomes an invitation to savor meals, rather than just consume food… As for those candles, by having matches nearby, this campfire can be lit with ease.
2. A Campfire for Chilling Out:Instead of passive time in front of a screen, create a campfire that invites you to relax, either solo or with others. Your campfire should be grounded by objects that offer comfort and ideally have some significance - like a rug, some comfy seating, a lamp or two and a coffee table accented with a few treasured items. These elements join together to create a glow that says, “sit and relax.” When people take the cue, this campfire will glow even brighter!
3. A Welcome Home Campfire
Instead of coming home to a dark and empty house at the end of the day, your “re-entry campfire” might include a table with a lamp illuminating photographs, treasured art and other mementos that say “welcome home!” The lamp, equipped with a light timer (and a compact florescent bulb) that is set to turn on at dusk and off a few hours later, allows this campfire to practically tend itself!
Christine Eisner is a lifestyle expert who shares a totally unique approach to "comfort living" with clients and audiences around the world. Through her writing, talks and consulting, she has helped thousands of people at all stages of life rediscover their heart and breathe new energy into their life. In her critically acclaimed book, Comfort Living: A Back-to-Basics Guide to a More Balanced Lifestyle, she offers practical tools and easy how-to's that inspire readers and clients to easily and inexpensively create the feeling of "home" - wherever they may be. Eisner's vision blends her cross-cultural experience with a new way of talking about and creating quality of life. Formerly the PR Director for Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, she is also a brand partner for ChangeMyWorldNow.com, where she guides teens and t'weens in creating “zones of their own" that are "as comfortable as your favorite pair of jeans!" Follow Christine Eisner on Twitter @comfort_living.
