On the hard days hold yourself gently - Botanical Trader Mantra
Do you have days where you wake up with a tired brain or feel unmotivated, defeated, "not good enough", and get pulled down with low self-esteem and negative self-talk from time to time?
You are far from alone if this happens to you.
We live in a culture that does not support our well-being. Almost everything that modern culture tells us we should be doing goes completely against what our mind, body and spirit need. This then results in feeling mentally exhausted and feeling like we don't measure up to "the norm".
It is heartbreaking that society's pressure on all of us can break the human spirit if we don't have the tools, self-awareness, or the time to check in with how we are feeling and prioritise our self-care.
Lack of self-care and downtime is a modern-day dilemma on a steady and fast uprise as more and more of us have growing to-do lists to squeeze into the same amount of time. Then, of course, there is the social pressure to be and act a certain way.
We are more connected than ever through technology, yet we are also less connected to the things that matter most as human beings and living souls.
It is not inherently natural for us humans to live the way we currently do, and our mind, body and soul are still trying to catch up to this ever-increasing speed we live at nowadays.
I am not saying we should all jump off the carousel and live as a hermit in the middle of the bush [unless you want to, of course]. The high-tech, busy, interconnected world we currently live in, brings with it so many benefits, opportunities and solutions - it is truly miraculous at times.
However [and we have all heard it a million times], we must jump off the ride at consistent regular intervals to slow down and catch our breath - so that we can recharge and renew our mind, body and spirit.
Burnout shows up differently for many people; it can be constant fatigue, depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, feelings of 'not enough' and a combination of all.
If we don't take time to jump out of the race and slow our pace of life down, burnout has long-term health effects, which almost always lead to serious disease.
Don't let a busy society dictate your well-being - self-care is about taking accountability and putting yourself first so that you not only sustain your current pace of life but also thrive.
Self-care has many modalities of wellness that we need to keep in check regularly; however, to keep things simple, we will focus on looking after your spirit.
When looking after your inner being, it is important to nurture, expand and discover elements of your spirit. Today, I want to share my eight favourite self-care tips to nurture the spirit.
When these eight elements are looked after - the inner self will have less turmoil and more peace.
There are more than eight ways to nurture the spirit; I have stuck with eight because I love the number eight. When it comes to nurturing our spirit, number eight is a perfect choice; the number has no beginning or end and becomes the infinity symbol, signifying the concept of limitlessness and eternity if turned on its side.
Some simple ways to connect with these eight elements are to ask questions, journal, meditate, sit in stillness, walk alone in nature.
At the bottom of the page, you will find soul steeping links to recorded meditations, reflective journal prompts and affirmations to keep you grounded during the hard days.
In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. -Unknown.
8 Elements To Nurture Your Spirit
CONNECTION:
Get to know yourself and what is going on for you internally. Tune in by taking a few moments to pause, breathe and become present. Get still enough within to see if you can hear the whispers of your soul. Just allow yourself to be with yourself, with no distractions, noises, pressures or others to look after. Take a few moments out of your day for yourself.
AWARENESS:
Self-awareness is where transformation begins. Get to know your triggers, self-sabotaging habits and so forth. Take accountability for how you feel. Get curious and explore ways to expand, grow and live life better.
AFFIRMATION:
Appreciate and honour yourself and all the good ways you contribute to the world around you. When your nasty inner critic pops up, talk back to it with love, acceptance and patience. Have a few words, mantras or affirmations to reaffirm your nasty voice with positivity. Also, journaling about all the good you offer and have is very positive and affirming.
EXPRESSION
Follow the things that matter most to YOU. Listen to the calling of your true nature and learn to express yourself authentically. Lean into the things that energise you, bring a smile to your face and lift your heart. When tough times or emotions arise, having these things to lean on will help you immensely.
ACCEPTANCE
There are some things in life that you can't change, whether it be past regrets, certain people, a situation or something unjust. When we feel angry or hurt from these situations, we enable ourselves to be a victim. The truth is we all have our hard days, mistakes and failures. The resilience of spirit happens through acceptance of the things we cant change. Let go with grace all that is not meant for you and choose to learn, grow and expand from the things that bring you to struggle. Find ways to process and express difficult emotions, rather than ignoring them and bottling them up. Remember, hurt people hurt - so never let another's action towards you affect your own self-worth.
NURTURE
Implement nourishing habits and rituals that energise and inspire. Take time out to nurture and love your spirit with a bit of self-care. Journalling, meditation, yoga, movement, gardening, reading, knitting, painting, hiking, ocean swimming, having a hot bath and so forth are all ways to slow down and nurture your spirit.
SERVICE
We are all here for a purpose, and I believe that is to contribute to the greater good of our world by bringing more peace, light, joy and kindness. The way we find our purpose is to lean into the things that light us up. Find the things you love to do, drop the self-entitlement and show up in the world open-minded, kind and authentic. Doing this will keep you connected to your true nature, which in turn will nourish your spirit.
EMPOWERMENT Taking ownership of our problems and how we feel is called self-empowerment. Identifying what supports or attacks your self-worth, how you can live and do things better and how you can be more kinder, calmer and joyful.
Nurturing your spirit is a process of finding balance: between yourself and the universe, yourself and others, between the past, present, and future, between your dreams, and the opportunities life presents to you.
The search for a joyful and peaceful self can not be found in the material trappings of the modern world. Being more attractive, having more power, wealth, respect, material stuff, and so forth is not what the spirit craves. The spirit craves simplicity, calm, creativity, connection, expansion, laughter and most importantly, it craves nourishment.
Prioritise the self-care of your spirit - so that you can bring your spirit back home to want it naturally knows and craves.
To help you on your self-care journey try some of our free resources.
LISTEN: Listen to free meditations and tune into good vibes with Soulful Conversations over at our podcast The OM Collective
WRITE: Express and cleanse your spirit with writing and journalling. Get our free journal prompts and templates over at The OM Collective @ The Art Of Journalling
AFFIRM: Call out your nasty inner critic by reaffirming it with kind and loving words. Read our article on the importance and how-to of affirmations here >>>