And that means to relax and take three deep breaths.

As a triple fire sign (Leo sun, Aries moon, Aries, rising) I’m all about starting-up, movin’ and shakin’, and keeping the internal flame lit.  That combination, however, without balance can lead to burn-out. And that’s not good for me or anyone else. With the economy moving the way it has, and consumers now more careful and thoughtful about where their dollar is going, I started to think about the little joys in life that contribute to happiness on a daily basis.

Why not magnify those and use them as expressions of abundance?

Here are 3 ways to take pleasure in the small things in life:

Don’t obsess over numbers

For online entrepreneurs and bloggers (I’m speaking to myself, too) that means stop looking at your website traffic every hour. It’s draining and won’t do anything to speed up the process of creating your tribe. Tribes are what Seth Godin refers to as marketers and leaders, focused on building communities or creating products or spreading ideas. (He wrote a really awesome book about it.) By not looking at your numbers, you will also remove yourself from scarcity thinking (if your numbers are down and it happens to all of us at some point) so that you can focus on more important tasks at hand. It’s a simple thing that reduces stress which, in turn, makes us a lot happier.

For you budget-ers out there (that includes me), let your brain be free of numbers for several hours throughout the day. Thinking about it will simply reinforce scarcity thinking. Remember you are abundant in so many other ways, like community, friends, boyfriends and chocolate?

Think about what makes you happy

Happiness sometimes comes in the smallest of packages. It could be the simplest of things. For example, I’m way into the weekly show on ABC, ‘Brothers and Sisters’. I don’t have t.v. but I do have the Internet and once a week on Monday mornings, (while I’m making my crock pot dish for the week) I sit down at my kitchen table with the warm air of the heat blowing up onto my feet, and I watch it without any guilt. Simple, right? It’s also free and makes me happy.

Other ideas include drinking your favorite tea while sitting cross legged on the floor with a blanket draped over your shoulders. Or Skyping with your best friend on the phone who lives across the country in New York. (That’s free, too).

Magnify what you do have

This means get into the material things you’ve got around you in your home, room or apartment without any guilt. These ‘things’ are a reflection of you and have meaning. For example, I love my electric stove. I bought her when I moved into my home almost two years ago at George Smith, in (what they called) the Boneyard area; the place where perfectly good (and new) floor samples with scratches and dents find their way. It was love at first sight and every time I clean her I get really happy and grateful. That makes me feel abundant at a lower price. Take a look around you and focus on that lamp, chair or painting that you love and everytime you think about what you don’t have, shift back to what you do have. It works and contributes to happy times.

I know these small things don’t always make-up for the vacations we won’t be taking this year or the purchases we won’t be making because of new financial burdens. But life is so much more significant than that. We have so much abundance all around us like our friends, family, homes, pets, significant others, our health and much more. Let’s focus on that, shall we? It’s a challenging but great practice, and its benefits are many.

Question: I heard it’s good Feng Shui to have a small water fountain in a special place in your house. Is this true and if so where is the best place to put it?

S.L. –Norfolk, VA

CJ: Here’s my answer.

Yes, it is very good feng shui to have a running water feature in a strategic location in your home.  For example, a small water feature on your desk in your office symbolizes abundance and the flow of money into your life.

Water has properties that move stuck energy and helps to get things rolling. Make sure that the water is moving towards you or at 360 degrees (which is moving in all directions.) You don’t want the water moving away from you hence directing energy away.

Traditionally in Feng Shui, water is associated with wealth and abundance. In ancient times, the Shamans of the land in China and other countries understood that to live near water where crops grew and fish was abundant, translated to an abundant livelihood where their goods could be traded at market.

There are other areas in your home where placing a water fountain is good feng shui, like in your career and/or wealth areas. However, those areas should be determined by a professional Feng Shui Consultant.

For more help with the Feng Shui of your home, visit CherylJanisStyle.com.

Question: We have just moved to a new home and I am wondering about the placement of the bed.

We have three options: The first is with our feet facing the door (but not in line with the doorway), which is, I believe, is optimal in terms of Feng Shui. The only problem here is that it requires us to use a radiator as a headboard, which I fear won’t be great in the winter.

The second option is to move the bed to a side wall, so that when entering the room you would walk into one side of the bed.

The third is to put our heads against a huge wonderful wall that looks out onto the windows. The problem with that placement, is that our backs are then to the door.

Any advice on bed positioning?

–J.R. New York

Cheryl: You’re right, the first option is not good. Radiator as a headboard, no no. That translates to headaches and other possible health problems.

The second option is also not preferable since the energy coming in through the door hits the side of the bed and that translates into restless sleeping patterns.

The third option, in my opinion, is the best. You have a wall behind you for support. That feels safe and therefore allows your nervous system to relax while sleeping. The view out the window is also optimal.

To remedy your back or peripheral view of the door, strategically place a small to medium mirror across the door so you can see who is coming in. You can also place bells around the knob of the door to the room and that way you will also be alerted when someone comes in.

Try that and let me know how it feels.

Okay, so not literally. What I mean is a non-drug groovy high attained by simply gazing at this fabulous piece of art and admiring the architectural detail. Imagine walking through it. If you’re in Vienna, Austria, you can.

“Technicolor Bloom is an architectural installation constructed from 1400 flat plywood panels to form a double-curved perforated tunnel. Designed by Brennan Buck with Rob Henderson and students from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria, the project is currently on show at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna.” Via:: Technicolor Bloom

Ah, the creative juices emanating from the planet with the environment in mind keep my heart happy.

London-based designer Yu Jordy Fu has produced a range of hand-cut paper lampshades called Cloud Lamps.

The designs are cut freehand from recycled paper, then folded around a light source.

From Dezeen:

These delicate lampshades are inspired by Jordy’s architectural design projects and scaled at 1:50. All handmade with recycled paper, the Cloud Lamp is a simple and sustainable way to add intimacy and magic to domestic environment. Yu Jordy Fu is a London-based designer whose dream is to make this world a better place.

From the artist:

“As an architectural designer, I think three-dimensionally;  I don’t see the lampshade as an object but a space. My passion is to create sensational spaces for people; I am interested in how it feels for the 1:50 scaled people on the lampshade in the designed spaces, whether is a church, playground, shopping mall, park or school; and how it feels like for us when the lamps are lit at home. The paper is cut freehand when it is flat, like doing a two-dimensional drawing, these are then folded up, and sculpted around a light source to create three dimensional spaces. I used this method to make architectural models for exhibitions for many years. I don’t see lighting as an additional element to the architecture, but an integrated part of it, driving the relationship between the solid and void, adding life to the architecture. I treat each lampshade as an individual piece; they are all slightly different and personal.”