A home is more than a place where you lay your head to rest after a long day of work. For me, it is a place where my personality is found on the walls and displayed on the floor. I have consciously decided to become an urban dweller, I am intentionally curating my own happiness, whilst actively designing and crafting wellness within my 650 square feet in the city of Toronto.
FROM WEST INDIES TO WEST LODGE
As a parent and an immigrant, what I envisioned when I relocated was a community that would serve the overall wellbeing and needs of my family holistically. I masterminded my own vision using my S.A.P.S lifestyle blueprint (Simplicity, Affordability, Proximity, Sustainability) around city living.
City living can be demanding at times, so my goal has always been to focus on making home life fun for my entire family. Here are some fun things we do to bond:
Creation of a meal plan where my children can choose the menu for the week. Adoption of the reuse, recycle and repurpose game. Examples of this game: if you see a pair of soft winter gloves in my cleaning tray, they are my new dusting buddies, or if you see a multicolored handmade rug on my bathroom floor, it is made from strips of cloth that will stay out of our landfills or perhaps you see a large teacup holding herbs in my window, it is me aligning with my authentic self as I co-create with Mother Earth.
My vision of my S.A.P.S lifestyle blueprint for city living:
Simplicity
Adopting an intentional way of using simplicity affords me time to focus on other interests that enriches my life.
Affordability
Finding an affordable place for my family to thrive is important. My present location at West Lodge is perfect for me along with many other reasons.
Proximity and Sustainability
As a vegan and wellbeing facilitator, proximity and sustainability have an important role in my daily life. The intent is focused on where I live, what I eat and how I show up for my community. By choosing to live in a centrally located area, I have access to amenities, and I can reduce my carbon footprint by biking or walking, using public transportation or an Uber to fulfill most of my basic needs.
Using the allocated green spaces around the property in spring and summer days, I love that I can relax or grow herbs for my cooking. One of my newfound joys is using West Lodge’s community hub to work out or drop in for a yoga session for the days that I need a quick stretch or break.
We all move for a different reason but the focus should always be to create beautiful memories with the people you love. Home is much more than where the heart is. It is forging new paths, helping the people you love to exceed their full potential, curating happiness, forging long lasting relationships and creating a sense of wellbeing in a place where others thought it was impossible.