Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Gym on Sunday: A Self Love Hack

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My favourite time to go to the gym is Sunday. It’s quiet, there is no one there trying to correct my form and no one trying to sell me a diet I didn’t ask for.

It’s a peaceful time for people like me who were too overwhelmed with life during the week and are now trying to convince themselves that our gym membership is worth having. It’s no pressure, it’s “Wow you made it here? You have permission to walk at a leisurely pace and reward yourself some ice cream after this. Job well done!”

Gym on a Sunday is amazing. It’s a gold star for effort. It’s an A+ for participation. It is practically high fiving yourself for existing and it is definitely the sort of self care I revel in. It’s a necessary win in this world that sometimes seems like it’s full of throat punches.

So take it from me, if you want to feel good with very minimal effort toss the face mask aside, throw out the nail polish, skip the bubble bath with essential oils – all that is too much effort. Gym on a Sunday gives you maximum rewards for literally showing up.

lifestyle, Self care, Uncategorized, Writing

Connecting.

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I’ve been looking for ways to stay connected with people I love and people with whom I’d like better friendships with. It’s been interesting because I am also doing this while simultaneously trying to cut back on my social media use and there are people who I can only access through social media. It’s so interesting how handles have officially replaced phone numbers and business cards and whatever else came before then.

So here I am, 30 years old. A millennial who has actually relied heavily on social media to connect and nurture friendships deciding that I need a break, I need to walk away and I need to start asking people for their phone numbers or the direction in which I should send a smoke signal or whatever way people used to communicate before handles and hashtags.

I used to think that my introversion meant that I could be alone all the time and I’d be happy and whilst I do enjoy my own company, growing has taught me that I do indeed, not only want but also crave human connections and that some connections matter more to me than others do.

So I’ve decided to minimize the light connections. The connections that leave me thirstier and wanting more. I want deep connections that will fill my bucket to the brim and still leave some water for me to dip my feet into.

I am not quite sure whether this break is providing me with that. All I know is I crave more, I want more and I deserve more. Whether the more is a deeper connections with those I already have and love or whether the more is an opening for new blooms to creep in and plant themselves in my heart I am not quite sure yet. All I am certain of is my desire to connect and to connect in a meaningful and nourishing way.

Uncategorized

Friday Favourites #2

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This week has been particularly hard for me to do any writing. Work has increased and flooded in. I am back home so there is the added responsibility of caring for my home. I fear that this week the inspiration has run dry from my fingers.

Nevertheless we push on. I have written a lot without ever completing anything this week. There have just been a lot of noises in my head this week and I haven’t figured out how to quiet them down long enough to actually be inspired or be creative.

Anyway back to this weeks favorites.

An interesting article:

Whatever Happened to ______ ?

An interesting podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/talking-tastebuds/id1287395967?i=1000454403717

Music: This week I’ve been listening to an audio book so I haven’t been jamming to anything. The audio book I am listing to is Essentialism by Greg McKeown.

Books I’ve read this week:

Love from A to Z by S.K Ali which was wonderful, I’ll post book review soon.

Passing by Nella Larson – I have only read the first part of this book but so far I am enjoying it. It was written in the 1920s and I really enjoying the language being used by the author.

These are my favourite a for the week, I hope that in the coming week I can quiet my mind down and write more work that I am happy to share.

creativity, mental health, Self care, Uncategorized, Writing

Recipe: Healing through Self-Care

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Take one cup of kindness, one cup of love and a squeeze of compassion and mix it all in a large bowl. 

Once fully mixed, pour into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir until the mixture starts to bubble. 

While the medley is bubbling grab a spoon of positive affirmations and sprinkle them while you continue to stir. 

Grab half a cup of gratitude and stir gently into the concoction and bring it to a boil. 

Wait for the mixture to cool, and scoop into a bowl. 

For extra measure you can garnish with some self-acceptance. 

This can be enjoyed either hot or cool, with loved ones or by yourself. 

Make sure to enjoy it often  enough until the taste starts to become familiar. Until the act of caring for yourself feels like second nature, until you never have to look outside for kind words and until you recognise healing whenever you examine yourself. 

 

creativity, lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing

An Ode to the Mundane

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I almost didn’t write today. I mean it’s 20:00 and I am only committing to putting something down.

Today was just one of those days that felt like it didn’t need to be remembered. I woke up, took a shower, had stale oats, drove to work and sent what felt like a million follow up emails. That was it, it really was a boring day even by my standards. I mean yes, I did stain my shirt in the exact same spot my husband stained his shirt even though he’s not home, that was cool but other than that nothing.

Some days are just like that. They come and they go. They bring nothing extraordinary be it sadness or happiness, they sort of just be.

Even now as I sit on my couch, writing this and trying my best to reflect I cannot for the life of me think of one exciting thing (except the shirt stain thing, that was pretty cool). At this point all I can do is congratulate myself on making it through the day. This day that didn’t ask much from me except for me to show up, work and eat a very dull salad.

So I am going to just be thankful to the mundane right now. Thankful that the lack of ups and downs in my day meant that I had no spikes in my anxiety. Thankful that I woke up and went to work and made it back home safely. Thankful that I had tea, thankful that I can missed the power outage while at work, thankful that I married someone whose clumsiness matches mine. Thankful that today I am here, sitting on the most comfortable couch in the world, with a book, a cut up mango and Gilmore Girls filling the silence.