dynamic balance
First, a little background. Feng Shui, like many arts of Chinese origin, was created by the Taoists, who looked at the universe and tried to figure out their place in it. One of their key observations is that the universe is always in motion – there are cycles at work everywhere. Feng Shui is an attempt to codify how to apply those cycles to our environment, to make it more harmonious. There are several main schools of Feng Shui, and probably even more minor ones. My home is laid out according to one of them, though it differs from the other main schools in that much of the variability has been removed – it is much more concerned with static balance rather than dynamic balance.
I’ve been questioning this lately, for a number of reasons. Life has elements of static and dynamic balance, and in varying degrees. Take standing still for example. Standing is actually an act of dynamic balance and strength. But there is also a large component of static balance as well. The majority of the body stays in or near a single location, and it is difficult to stand still if the upper body is moving about.
In the end, I’m not sure that either one matters that much. While Feng Shui has a lot of good principles in it, many of them are common sense – or should be. The rest I’m not as concerned about – after all, what’s most important is that you’re happy in your home, rather than where a particular color is placed.