A Life Worth Coming Home To

Chris reflects on rebuilding identity through ritual, craftsmanship, hospitality, and intentional living — and how creating peaceful spaces became part of rebuilding his life.

Transcript

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I spent years chasing bigger lives when what I really wanted was a quieter one. Bigger checks, bigger goals, bigger distractions. I thought peace would eventually come after I built the life I wanted. But somewhere along the way I realized peace isn't something you arrive at. It's something you create. But life doesn't really ask what you wanted or what you planned for. But somewhere along the way, I became someone I never expected to be. Not worse, but just different. And somehow becoming the person I was always meant to be. You see, the man you're listening to right now isn't the same man I was a year ago. Much less four years ago. I'm Chris, and this is the seventh paradigm. I have new habits and rituals now. New rituals, but still based on tradition. My wife and I would go to the same restaurant after mass every Sunday. We could just sit down and they'd bring us our coffee. We didn't even need the menu. Then I left the church for a couple of years, but I went back last year. And then I started going back to that same restaurant. But now I switched it up to trying new breakfast spots. And sometimes I'll just come home and cook. I started a new coffee ritual where I grind my beans right before I brew my coffee. Mainly because it just tastes better than using the coffee pods or cups. And to most people, those things probably sound small. But to me, they represent an entirely different life. Sundays are now church, breakfast, chores, and recording. And if their schedule permits, Sunday dinner with my girls and son-in-law. And this year was the second year in a row that I hosted my dearest friends from high school and had a crawfish boil. Now, the crawfish boil is fun, but truthfully, it became a day for me and my daughter just to hang out with the entire day. Over the last couple years, I got inspired to create my own spaces. Every room has intention. Every piece has a feeling. I didn't just open a web page and buy an entire matching set. I wanted my home to feel like me. And maybe that sounds strange coming from a guy who builds furniture and drives brown trucks for a living. But creating a peaceful home and intentional spaces became very important to me. I love creating environments that feel welcoming. Man, and don't get me started on cooking. That's an entirely another episode all by itself. I'll perfect a meal until it becomes one of my signature dishes. Then I'll move on to the next one and add it to my tool belt. I can pull inspiration from just about anywhere. And honestly, my love for cooking was reignited after watching the movie Chef by John Favaro. And if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. And I think in a lot of ways I started rebuilding my life through the things I created through cooking, through furniture, through music, through designing, lighting, hosting, just even my coffee. I started creating the kind of environment I wanted to live in. And honestly, that was the key for me. I can't remember where I heard this from, but when we're expecting company, we clean just a little extra more. We light the candles, we straighten the pillows, we make our spaces feel warm and welcoming. But what if just what if we did all of that for ourselves? What if we created lives we actually enjoyed living in, even when nobody's coming over? We elevate our spaces for ourselves first. And then when people do come over, they just get to experience the peace we created. And when I heard that, that idea hit me differently. Because it made complete sense. And honestly, I never look back. And maybe that's what I've been doing this whole time. Rebuilding a life that I actually wanted to come home to. So go curate your lives. Go design the life that you want to live. Be safe, be blessed, and go build.