The sun is shining (well it was when I wrote this) and I'm feeling grateful to be healthy, comfortable, well-fed and occupied. I'm finding a lot of joy in the small things these days, and especially in unapologetically taking care of myself.
This has really been a reflective and transformative time, already. I've been able to carve out some moments of stillness, of joy, and of support. And - as always - I learn the most from my students and my clients; I have LOVED the notes and messages I have received during this time, thank you! It was a coaching client who prompted me with the question:
HOW DO YOU FIGHT THE BLEH?
And it really made me think - what are my bright spots? What have I been doing for myself? What do I look forward to each day? And here's what I came up with…
1. Ginger-turmeric latte. I had never mastered the golden milk latte before, and in fact really blew it in previous attempts. But I put my mind to it and dialed in this recipe and technique (I mean, it didn't take that long), and now this is a delicious treat that feels super luxurious and also SO HEALTHY at the same time. I find that special - and usually hot - drinks like this really invoke in me a moment of pause and a feeling of coziness, or hygge as the Danish would say. Try it for yourself! Here's the recipe.
2. Fresh flowers. We’re stuck inside, how can we make inside nicer? How can we bring some of outside -and the gorgeous spring that’s happening out there - inside? I gave all my houseplants a little spruce up, try to keep some fresh flowers in the house, and just generally keep things clean and sunny and smelling good! Think: how can you make your home feel more like a spa? Do that.
3. Coffee breaks. I know, another hot drink, what can I say? This is less about the drink (I have *not* mastered making my own coffee #WIP) but more about the time. I usually enjoy a coffee after I've taught my midday classes. I drink decaf because caffeine's no good for my anxiety; my friend turned me on to a delivery option from one of BK's best roasters who don’t use chemicals to make their decaf (yay!) and I bought myself a frother to try to emulate my coffee shop experience as much as I can. It's a treat and a pause after a busy morning, a punctuation mark in my day that signifies something accomplished.
4. Jazz. Yup, you read that right - jazz. I’m not sure if it’s because jazz is so chill or because I grew up with jazz in the house, but I have been loving quiet moments with the Billie Holiday radio on Spotify playing while I sip any of the the aforementioned drinks, journal, or do any number of enjoyable organizational tasks, sitting on the floor of my living room with a candle or incense burning.
5. The end of the day. Just like normal, that clock-out time feels pretty nice. Even if I’m just changing from leggings to sweatpants (I mean, that’s all the time anyway), it’s important to mark the end of your “work” day: put everything away, change your clothes, hell maybe even take a shower. Crack open a bottle of red and enjoy the evening.
And finally, presence- in a few different ways. Presence in the moment is easier for me than presence on a larger scale. What the hell does that mean?
Well, meditation or something that requires deep focus makes it easy(ish) to be present in the moment. I've been doing a ton of that - and I started saving the meditation videos from my daily IG live for you here so you can dive in anytime. We've done some great themes, more will be up there soon! Day 1 of my quarantine I committed to doing these daily meditations and it has really helped me stay grounded - not just because of the practice but also simply the routine.
However, I struggle more with that large-scale presence: hanging out in limbo, in the gray zone for an extended period of time. It's such a familiar feeling as I’ve realized life is just a string of gray zones, and I always come back to the same idea from my favorite piece of writing: that transition zones are some of the richest and most exciting places to be. Now I don't want to disregard the more negative or challenging parts of this situation, but chosen or not this is a turning point in all of our stories. You can read that piece of writing here to see what I mean.
As we wrapped up our call last night, my client and I talked about how there's no arriving and there's no silver bullet. Like I said, life is just a bunch of gray zones strung together. There will always be more to do, and further to go. Instead of letting that feel overwhelming, let that give you permission to pause. To know that there is no end to the list, so you have to create your own breaks in it. That "some day" will always be just that, "some day," so you might as well enjoy this day. And how every goal or habit or chapter is made up of a ton of smaller things, which means there's not ONE thing that keeps it all together, so there's also not ONE thing that can take out the entire foundation. So we focus on where we are, the things we have now, and what we can do.
What are your bright spots?
xo,
m.
