Bedroom Feng Shui vs. Water

Two months ago, I rearranged my room, but before I did, I looked up the laws of feng shui. Many of them made sense, such as reducing electromagnetic fields (i.e., turn off your damn computer), placing your bed so you can see the doorway (a command position in case of attempted ninja attack), and creating a peaceful color scheme (no multi-colored polka dots). However, I was startled by the following commandment:

Remove any water images from the bedroom.

I found this funny, because I am drawn to paintings that include bodies of water. The first painting I ever bought, I discovered while perusing the wares of a street vendor in Rome. It was tucked away amid dusty old books and cracked vinyl records. What is this? I thought, noticing a corner of painted canvas. Pulling it out, I was met by a red sky at night (sailor’s delight), casting a fading stream of warm light over otherwise dark waters. In the foreground, two large rocks peep out of the placid ocean, hinting at land a little further inward. In the background, three boats sail off into the ocean, toward the just-set sun. I don’t know what other people see when they look at this obviously amateur acrylic, but I see an adventure, not of turbulence accompanied by those attempting new feats of bravery, like Jason in Argonautica, but of the kind born out of an instinctual human need to connect to something bigger than oneself, like The Old Man and the Sea. And in this connection, my water image, bought in the most unlikely of places and transported back to America in my own quiet adventure, sets me at rest.

Since then, I have bought others paintings—one of an ocean wave crashing against a rock, and another of a cottage nestled in the woods by a winding river. In each scene, this water brings life and power that it shares with me, but that I cannot and should not attempt to control. It is a gift, a moment in which I may partake, but which existed in itself before I arrived and will remain after I am gone.

So, feng shui, will these water images cool the fires of passion that should be raging in my boudoir? I hope not. Most of the time, they are busy bringing me joys of their own. I would hate to throw the babies out with the waters, if you catch my drift.