As September picks up its stride, it brings with it transformation and new beginnings.
This is a month full of that “back to school” vibe, seasonal shifts, and an invitation to review what needs to transform and shift in your life.
It’s an ideal time to rest, review, and recalibrate.
Consider what changes you may be longing to implement in your life.
What needs nurturing?
What parts of yourself have been neglected?
Where can you be softer and more understanding of yourself?
What parts of your soul are yearning to be noticed?
I have learned over the years that it is important to give myself permission to just be me and follow my gut instinct instead of doing what everyone else wants me to do or whatever I believe is expected of me.
So many of us find it hard to take time to really listen to what our soul is calling us to do from moment to moment.
We have been brainwashed in a way to constantly be living up to someone else’s expectations of us.
We live in this culture of chronic busyness, where being occupied continuously and stressed, is worn like a badge of honor. The more you have to do, the higher your value in this world.
What will it take for you to go against that?
Could you take the afternoon off and go for a walk in nature? Would you allow yourself to do that if your soul was calling you to, even if it goes against everything you feel is ‘right’ and ‘acceptable?’
It’s these simple calls to action that are the most important to heed.
When you wake up and you want to go for a walk outside after breakfast, but you don’t because you have to get a head start on the laundry, or answer all your emails, or create the kids activity plan or whatever else you simply have to do, you are essentially neglecting the call of your own spirit.
What about you and your needs?
You will be a better friend, partner, parent, worker if you learn to follow your heart and tend to your soul.
Even if other people at first raise their eyebrows because some people don’t like it when you start doing things differently, you will benefit in the long term and so will they.
What about permitting yourself to trust yourself and your higher consciousness – that inner voice whispering in your heart? It’s the voice that’s calling you to slow down, to take care of your health, your body, and your mind.
Read this quote from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh,
“Don’t do any task in order to get it over with. Resolve to do each job in a relaxed way, with all your attention. Enjoy and be one with your work.”
How does that make you feel? I’m sure you understand its principles, but do you then move on and forget about it in the rush of life? We are all guilty of that. It’s one thing to relate to information; it’s another to practice living that way.
To incorporate mindfulness into our lives we have to be in touch with ourselves.
Most of us are always sucked into the future, thinking about the next thing and the next thing. We rarely experience the moment itself.
What if this September, permit yourself to start living mindfully? To be present in every action and to follow the callings of your soul.
That doesn’t mean that you will ignore what you need to get done and shake off responsibilities. It means slowing down, seeing where you haven’t been looking after yourself, and following what pleases you and lights you up.
It means purposefully taking longer to wash the dishes because you are enjoying the sensation of cleaning your beautiful plates and appreciating them.
It means taking a ten-minute computer and phone break to walk outside and stretch your arms and touch your toes. To stare at the wind blowing the leaves. To mindfully sip your tea in your favorite chair by the window. To let your mind settle, so that you can hear what’s underneath the chaos.
Here are some top tips:
- Give yourself permission to let go of your need for approval.
- Start saying “I want to” instead of “I have to” and follow that in action.
- Ask for help and assistance when you need it. Don’t burn yourself out.
- Do something new every single day that you have in the past told yourself you cannot or should not do.
- Set boundaries with your time and energy, make sure you get time to yourself every day.
