Cultivating Richness
make everything more interesting and beautiful around you
If you want to cultivate a richer world for yourself, you should know that it comes hand in hand with developing good taste. In no particular order or matter, here are some fun ways to cultivate more richness in your life:
Reading biographies about great people instead of self-help books. There is a lot more richness in the stories and details of people’s lives from the past than self-help books. One can learn a lot more from Ben Franklin’s autobiography than from any general “how to grow and live a great life” type of books.
Go to bookstores and buy old/used books. Trust me, it’s just cooler to have a 18th century copy of a book than a modern one. It feels like you own a part of the past and your book collection is a museum.
When choosing design and decor for your home, you can easily add more richness by remembering that beautiful patterns and details add depth and texture to a piece than a standard black, white, or brown piece. For example, I was looking for a canister to hold loose coffee. Your first options are often standard white or black ones. Then I simply added “pretty” to my canister search and I immediately found one with detailed floral designs and bought that one for our kitchen.
Move more of your life from digital to physical. Document your memories with a physical scrapbook. Take notes or journal in a physical journal. Have a physical calendar in your home and mark things there. Use a whiteboard to jot your to-dos instead of another to-do app. Physical reminders and post-its. Physical collages. Physical photo albums and galleries. Physical art canvases. Have things you can just open with your hands instead of something you need to unlock on a computer or phone. It feels more real. It feels richer.
Choose your clothes intentionally and design your outfits in a way that make a statement about how you feel and who you are. Also, on that note, aim to dress nice and dress well by default, even when you’re in your own home. Reject sweatpants and sweatshirt and try to dress nice as a default.
Play chess and have a couple of beautiful chess sets around your place. Having chess sets around invites one to play an interesting game, and it works as beautiful decor, too.
Get a couple of terracotta vases for your place.
Create traditions or partake in traditions. Celebrating holidays like thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, Diwali all make life richer. You can also create traditions like having a housewarming every time you have a new place, or to host a nice dinner at your place with your friends every once a month.
Indulge in painting as a pastime. Your brain will experience a high level of satisfaction from seeing certain colors touch the canvas, and even more so when you blend it in ways that suit the vision, and when you ultimately learn and come out with a great piece. I highly recommend learning to paint.
The list is endless, but hopefully these are some good ones to get you started.