Spring has arrived.
Nature awakens, birds start singing early in the morning, we see the fresh greens, spring flowers, blossoms, …
All is smiling at us.
All feels fresh and alive.
But are we smiling?
Are we feeling alive?
Do we feel new energy flowing?
Do we wake up and look forward to the day ahead?
If the answer is no to some of the questions, or to all of them, then it’s the perfect time to start doing something about it, so that we can experience the same energy, nature is showing us in this season.
There is more and more sunlight, temperatures are rising, so spring is the ideal season to help us awaken from our numb, low energy status.
How do we proceed to change into that vibrant, healthy lifestyle?
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of ‘less’. Hence my book “Less is Yes!” and many, many of my articles here on Medium.
In creating space, there is room to breathe, room to rest, room to feel joy, room to be.
And I don’t only mean literally space in your house, but in every aspect of your life.
I would suggest you choose one area where you will be creating space for the next couple of weeks. Once you are familiar with this new habit, take on another one. Until you see your life evolving from ‘too much’, ‘too busy’, ‘too full’, … to having enough time, to taking care of your body, to having less stuff, to being able to enjoy what you are doing in life. I highly recommend to start small. Otherwise, it becomes a burden and it would feel like adding something to your agenda, instead of making your life lighter.
What I like to focus on in springtime, is cleaning up my body, getting rid of all the toxins in my body and creating space for health to flow freely through my body. Our western lifestyle is way too poisoned, but we can take action to do something about it. Not only will our body look healthier, we will feel more energy, we will be smiling more, and we will be taking care of our long- term health and happiness. I highly recommend doing a detox course*, like I am doing at the moment. But make sure, you are guided by someone who knows about what supplements you need to take during this course, and how to go about it. Detoxing too fast, or unsupported, may lead to re-toxification. And we certainly do not want that.
If you are not up to doing a program, you can already start by eliminating the obvious ‘toxins’ in your diet. If you are cutting down on sugars, processed foods, deep fried food, alcohol, … you are already walking a healthier path. If you have done that for several weeks, you can start adding more fresh vegetables, more nuts, more seeds, less meat, less fish, less bread and pasta. And that way, you can create a healthy diet, without going into a ‘shock’ diet of all things you’ve never eaten before. Because we all know that does not last. You have to ease into this new lifestyle. Once you start feeling your body getting more energy, when you notice that you are sleeping better, that you are less irritated, …. You are motivated to go on. I know it feels scary in the beginning. There is a lot of resistance from your body because it is used to being fed these addictive toxins.
But decide what you would like.
Creating a healthy body, feeling good, looking good, feeling joy,
or just continue down this path of feeling tired, frustrated, and maybe not yet, but right down to becoming sick.
It is a choice you make. It is something that will take time to adjust to. But it is so worth it.
Creating space also means, creating space in your time schedule. And here is where I immediately get all the: ‘you don’t know my life’, ‘I can’t cut back’, ‘there is just so much I want/need to do’,….
And yes, creating space in your agenda means saying no. Saying no even to joyful things. And “why would I do that?” I hear you asking. Because saying yes to everything, leads to exhaustion, leads to getting sick, leads to burn out, …
Choose wisely. Let go of the F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out)
You will still have friends, even if you do not say yes to every event.
You will still have a job, even when you do not work late very evening.
You will still be adequately informed, even if you do not watch every news broadcast.
People, real people, will still like you, even when you do not read, and like, every item they post.
The list is endless.
Take a good, and honest, look at your agenda, and cut out activities so that there is space in between them.
Having space means less stress. Whenever something happens, there are buffers, you can handle it.
Do one thing at a time.
Enjoy what you’re doing, even if it’s something you have to do, try to look at it from a different point of view, from a view of gratitude for your life.
And having created space, does not mean, that you can start saying yes again to every request.
Guard that space for your own wellbeing: read, walk, sleep, meditate, do nothing, …. You’ll notice how much you needed this quiet time. You’ll feel yourself reviving, resurfacing after being under water for so long.
It’ll also give you a clear vision of who you really are, of what you really like, of how you want to live your life.
The better rested, the less stressed out you are, the more room you have in your life, the happier you will feel.
You’ll be so much healthier.
You’ll have time to devote to yourself.
You can handle unexpected situations better.
The list is endless.
I know that, depending on the phase of your life you’re in right now, ‘time’ can feel different. I know, I’ve been there too. But even with little kids, there is always room for a little me-time. It’s getting into this new habit of ‘how to schedule my day’, but it is possible.
For instance:
Getting up those 15 minutes earlier, to have some quiet time before the house awakens, is a perfect way to start your day.
When they’re doing a little nap, do something that requires silence.
When they’re focused on a game or a comic book, take a quiet cup of coffee or tea and breathe, relax.
I know it sometimes feels impossible, but even these few minutes where you take a moment to breathe, will already make you feel different. No matter how hectic your life is, you do have a choice and you can take some time for yourself.
It’s a choice. Instead of watching the late news broadcast, or scroll on your phone, …sit, breathe, do nothing, meditate, read some pages in a book, ….
The better you take care of yourself, the better person you are for you and for everyone around you.
There are more areas in which we can create room, your house, your mind, … but we’ll go into those in next week’s blog.
As I said in the beginning, choose one thing, focus on getting that part of your life better. Once it’s become a natural part of your day-to-day life, introduce another thing.
As Courtney** says in her latest book ‘Gentle’, take it slow but steady. Don’t push through, don’t fight and struggle to get everything done. That will not help you, even if it’s fun or healthy stuff you’re doing.
Go easy.
Make a vision board of what you would like to be.
Work your way up to that life, slow and easy.
Make small adjustments, but keep going.
Ask for guidance.
Have an accountability partner.
Journal about your wins.
Whenever you struggle, go easy.
Celebrate your wins.
Thank you all for reading me, and for supporting me on Medium! If you want unlimited access to all of my articles and to those of many other authors, you can become a Medium Member and you’ll be supporting me and all the other authors. Many, many thanks to you all!!!
Katrien
*’Grow a New Body’ by Dr. Alberto Villoldo.
**’Gentle’ by Courtney Carver.