There is no happiness in life, there is no misery, like that growing out of the dispositions which consecrate or desecrate a home.

Nothing shapes daily life as much as the temper of the place you come back to. A home where people are easy with each other can carry almost anything that happens outside it, while one where the air has to be read carefully makes even a good day exhausting. The effect is enormous and mostly invisible, made of very small behaviours repeated endlessly. It is also where your own conduct has the most leverage.

Look at what you contribute to the atmosphere when you walk in tired. Those first ten minutes set more than they seem to, and they are among the most improvable things in your week.