Happy August sweet Friends! Let’s catch up and chat about how my summer has been and what has been inspiring me lately and I would love to hear what has been inspiring you too! I hope you have been enjoying the summer months and leaning into the season. For me, it’s always hard to not wish away Summer because I so want my favorite season, autumn, to return faster. But something that leaning deeper into slow and intentional living has taught me is to appreciate the present moment. To not wish away time or rush through things. To allow what is unfolding right in front of you. So I have tried to do just that, enjoy the longer and warmer days, the strolls through farmers’ markets where the produce is lush and gorgeous, and wake up to the sun already high in the sky. To read in bed for a while, take my time to make a yummy decaf pour-over cup of coffee, and eat something nourishing all before making a to-do list for the day.
This has been what enjoying the season intentionally has been for me and what has helped me to continuously feel okay and inspired. Living this way is entirely different from how I used to. I used to rush through things, especially my mornings. I would spend a little too long in bed scrolling, then rush to get ready and pick an outfit, make an extremely caffeinated coffee, skip breakfast, and dash out the door only to get to work or my destination feeling depleted but also simultaneously wired. This is a bad combo for anyone but definitely for someone that has Chronic Migraine Disease which means living with an already overstimulated brain. And boy did my brain tell me, I could no longer continue this way. So, since June, I had to take a hard look at my life and how I was spending my time and make a lot of changes. Changes that were entirely necessary but still very hard and uncomfortable.
My morning and how I start my day now might seem entirely unattainable to those working 9-5 jobs. I get that, I couldn’t start my mornings this way when I was working in an office but there are still ways to start your days in a nourishing way instead of a chaotic depleting way. Maybe it’s getting up slightly earlier so you can do a little movement or enjoy your coffee without rushing, maybe it’s reading a few pages of the book you’ve been meaning to start. Maybe it’s journaling or spending a little more time on your makeup. It can be whatever makes you feel good and filled up before you start your day. I have found personally that starting my mornings in a slow and very intentional way has allowed me to have less pain or at least delay migraine pain instead of it hitting me in the face the second I stepped out the door.
Although I have seen the benefits and know the importance of living this way it is still hard to unlearn deeply rooted habits. Somedays it is easy to wake up and pursue my morning and life this way and other times I feel restless and impatient. It’s okay and natural when you are in the midst of making changes and unlearning how you once lived. Trust me, I used to feel like I was a person that was made for moving fast, rushing, thrived in chaos LOL. I am laughing because that is absolutely not true for me and my personality but I was conditioned to feel like I should be that person therefore I am that person or was. Be gentle with yourself and see if you can carve out just a little bit of intentional time in the morning for your nourishment and see how it changes how you feel throughout the day.
Sending love,
M
Whimsy & Willow 