I got ahold of a Feng Shui book. For the last five houses I’ve lived in, I’ve plotted plants and red flowers and windchimes (hollow ones of course), and positioned mirrors and crystals all in the name of bettering my good luck Chi. Just in this one book, there are about five theories of Feng Shui that make me want to shut the book and weep. Move my front door? Relocate a toilet? How will I ever cover that "unfortunate structural pillar" with the sharp edges? And for goodness sakes! I sleep right under wooden beams! Raise my desk to 33 inches? My life could be easily classified as hell in a hand basket if I took it all too seriously.

But, there’s something that draws me in, and I can’t tell you what it is. It is like the soft carpet the neighbors just installed: I just want to sample it a little bit with my shoes off. It’s like all the shiny Christmas decorations jammed into the store: I don’t want all of them, and don’t need all of them for a happy Christmas, but maybe a little box of those glittery gold ones will do.

So I flip again through the book and try to figure out my "auspicious" numbers, corners, and elements. I drop all the theories and go with just a few things I can manage: a few plants placed in front of poison arrows; my desk faces Northeast; a globe sits in the lucky corner of my daughter’s room; and I’m searching for a horse and a red plant to place in the Southwest corner, which really isn’t a corner, it ’s more like a wall.

The author of the book I tote around says:

The practice of Feng Shui can be as simple or as complex as your own attitudes and your own good sense dictate. Feng Shui is neither spiritual nor religious. It is an ancient Chinese science that can be easily and effectively adapted to the modern living environment. Feng Shui is not magic and it cannot bring you overnight success. But it can enhance your periods of good fortune, just as it can mitigate your times of misfortune.

Sounds pretty practical when she puts it that way. Balance. A life in balance. That’s the direction for me.