I love those mornings when the sun is rising in all of its glory, but you can still catch a glimpse of the moon floating in the sky. I love seeing pastel sun sets, and those glorious, vibrant sunrises. I love taking a moment to appreciate them.
Most of our days start off in a rush, congrats if you've managed to wrangle a short 10 minutes to yourself in the A.M. A lot of people I know are rushing, worried that they may be late for work, rushing to get food on the table for the kids and usher them off to school. Rushing, worrying, stressing. Then we wonder why these emotions carry on throughout the day! Well the answer is simple, you haven't stopped to let them go, you've just kept on plowing through your day.
When I first started working on Autumn Jade Studio full time I didn't rush. I know it may sound bad to some, but I really didn't! I had just moved into my first real house of my own with my boyfriend, I was getting the opportunity I had always wanted; to work on my jewelry full time. Of course I was stressed sometimes, but rarely rushed. I savored my mornings, and I still do, but I would sit with my coffee and my pooch and be, I wouldn't rush to start on jewelry I would do it at my own pace, on my own time. If it was sunny I would work outside and enjoy the sun, let me tell you I sure do miss that deck! After a while boredom set in. While I was busy enough to be making a living, I wasn't busy enough to keep myself busy so I went back to work part time. On my part time days I would really try to savor the morning, but I would always be rushing around getting the dog ready, eating, and getting myself ready.
When I opened the brick and mortar store I got even worse. I would be in a rush 24/7. I was busy when I was at the store, and when I was home I was busy trying to catch up on everything that I had fallen behind on because I was at the store. This turned into me being a ball of stress, worry and anxiety all of the time. I no longer savored the mornings, I craved the time where I could crawl into bed and fall asleep. I would wake up exhausted, dragging my feet wanting to dive back into bed. I would walk our new puppy, very grumpily if the weather wasn't nice, and I wouldn't take the time to enjoy it. It was just another box to check on my to-do list.
Let's fast forward to now. What have I done to change things? I've reminded myself to take what I like to call mindful moments. Sometimes I really suck at sticking to daily meditations, but I've found the mindful moments to be something a little easier to stick to. It is how I remind myself to appreciate things and be grateful. It's taking a moment appreciating the sun rise when I'm able to catch it, the fresh air and finally green grass when I walk the dogs. To not chug my cup of coffee and be onto the next task, but to slow down and enjoy not only the coffee but the tasks on my list as well. Bringing plants into my home has really helped with this, and has turned into an addiction that rivals my crystal addiction - that is a tale for another day though. Each morning I love sitting in one of the plant nooks in my home to respond to you guys on social media, and reply to emails. I love when a new leaf catches my eye, and I get to watch the plant grow and flourish! It takes me out of my head and into the present moment, and really isn't that what it's all about.
I hope you guys have a great week, I'd love to hear about any mindful moments you incorporate into your days!
-Siobhan
Photo by Bekir Dönmez on Unsplash