By Julia Oyefunke Fortune

Like mentioned before, the spiritual and material aspects of our lives must be well and harmoniously combined in order for us to find a balance in life, and heal ourselves. But this will also help us protect ourselves and our loved ones from any negative energy, which might cause, besides stress and bad temper, also real diseases, since it is already known and generally acknowledged that stress can lower our immune system, thus allowing diseases to spread into the weakened organisms. In order to avoid all this, we must be aware of the fact that our home, our living space allows us to regenerate after a stressful day at work, and brings us and our family that unity which will help us fight everything with success.

Now we must have realized by now that we are not talking about a real fight, with hatred and desire to win over others, but this fight is more of an inner struggle to reach one certain point of balance, where we as well as our loved ones can be happy and healthy. You don’t have to be rich and powerful in order to be happy; as we cannot be happy without love, and that is something no one can buy. In order to be loved, one has to love in its turn, and not only the people around him or her, but also the space they are living in, which will give the right vibes and setting for the harmony and love we are all searching for in our lives.

Your apartment doesn’t have to be fancy, modern and minimalist in order to be the perfect space; you have to make it be your perfect space. Each of us has different tastes, pleasures and delights, and by adorning the place you live in with those things you make your living space a loving space. The people living in one space make it feel good or bad, so you could live in a palace, but be sad and then the place would be cold and gloomy, or live in a hut but think positively, and then the hut would be bright and sunny.

How about using little furniture for a small apartment, only the really necessary one, and since white walls will give the impression of space, besides that of cleanliness, why not try and paint the furniture in white also? This will give even more the illusion of space, and every single item set on it afterwards will strike, be it a candle, a book or a pot plant.

If your windows are small, don’t cover them up with heavy curtains, but let the light in, even though you have a poky neighbour who likes watching from his or her window. Leave light flood your small home, so that you will find it flooded with light and sunbeams when you get home; as a gloomy dark place will surely not give you a happy feeling on your return home, and you can always draw the curtains back when you come home.

Have coloured candles all over the place, you can even make your own. However, beware of the ones made with paraffin, benzene and toluene; and the scented ones, as they can be dangerous for your health. No matter how small your rooms are, make them come to life by adding a few plants here and there, and vases with happy flowers will add extra warmth to your entire home. Get a pet, there’s nothing more smile-worthy than a dog or a cat welcoming you happily on your doorstep, and they are also non stop providers of unconditioned love, which is always good to have.

There’s nothing more relaxing than a reading corner, with a nice fluffy armchair, a yellow- light lamp, today’s newspaper and a cup of tea in a corner, having the rest of the house in semi-darkness; or more heart warming than a crowded small kitchen table, with friends and family gathered round it, eating, talking, laughing and passing on the bread basket.