REST & REJUVENATION

Like you, I am a busy mama. I work, study, create (this here blog), parent, friend and wife. I love all of these things, and all of these things love me. From time to time I find myself spinning a little out of control. It might be because I haven’t had the sheer energy that comes from when things line up and you feel on top of the world. Or it might be because we have a run of sleep interrupted nights for a variety of kid related reasons. Sometimes it’s because my work doesn’t work as well I would like. These things can be enough that I notice a sluggishness in my body. Then I realise I’m running low on energy. I can tell because my resilience drops, my ability to parent calmly drops, my feelings of capacity and calm deplete. In short, I start to feel a little out of control.

Here’s my go to list of things I do to nourish and rejuvenate:

1. I go home: As in my house. Someone once said to me that as she puts the key in her lock she feels an overwhelming relief at being in her safe space. On days where I am overwhelmed, I make a break for home.
2. I snuggle up to my people: This usually entails popping some popcorn and dousing it with apple cider vinegar, butter and salt and throwing on a movie. The movie bit isn’t normally glamorous (think Thomas the Tank engine and other variations), but the company is everything.
3. I read: I find immersing myself in other people’s words really energising. Sometimes I’m all about fiction, sometimes biographies, sometimes I am reading others work to make sense of something that is on my mind.
4. Drink something hot: As my friend Liz always says, drinking a hot drink grounds you. I always feel centered and rejuvenated after a hot chocolate or chai. It’s the perfect quick pick me up for a mama on the run.
5. Get outside: Give yourself the gift of a ‘pattern interrupt’. Sit on the grass, look up at the sky. Move your body. Put on some uplifting music. Dance.

I find that when I feel energised, nothing is too much trouble. I connect easily, create easily and have more patience and enthusiasm. When I am overstretched, I become out of balance which becomes a slippery slope to a potential downward spiral. So next time you are starting to notice yourself becoming wobbly, do something that lifts your spirits quickly – do something to nourish and rejuevenate.

How do you rest and rejuvenate?