Each day starts with noticing that I’m waking from sleep.
Immediately some words of love and support come into my mind and I say consciously inside.
‘I love you, I’m here for you, you are safe’.
A warmth comes over my nervous system. I am remembering to love.
Next it’s time for a cup of tea in bed. A full glorious hour before I get up just to enjoy relaxing in the cosy bed and drinking tea. Kettle on, lights on, heating on. Back to bed with tea.
When it’s time to get up I sing out loud a bit of the A-Team theme tune as I am getting out of bed. This triggers the dog to bound through in delight. ‘She is getting up, woo hoo!’. I have a lovely little greeting with her and this signifies a little celebration of a new day starting. She lies down and gets a tummy tickle.
As I step into the shower I feel gratitude that I have hot water on demand for me to use, and I appreciate it. I notice the lovely feeling of the water on my skin. The bathroom is warm and I’m grateful to the central heating. I breath in the shower, fully present to the sounds, smells, the feeling and sight of the water, skin, bubbles and light patterns.
Next I’m getting dressed, and it’s time for a little game. It’s sock time! I’ve somehow trained my dog to associate me putting on my socks with getting her backed scratched, so every morning she rushes through when she hears me getting dressed. And she stands there in entitled expectation of getting her back scratched and I laugh and smile. And if I stop to put my socks on she paws me in impatient expectation of wanting more stretching. I find this all very amusing.
Without thinking about it much I have integrated small celebrations into daily life that lift the mood. Rituals that get repeated over and over and over. No matter what I am feeling, I’m still going to say kind loving words to myself on awaking, I’ll sing the A-Team getting out of bed, still going to declare ‘Sock time!’ to the dog. Even when I can’t be bothered and I’m not in the mood. I do it anyway.
So that is the start of the day. Throughout the day there are other little habits I do regularly such as breathing from the stomach and saying the Gayatri, consciously being in my senses, noticing nature, noticing my thoughts, singing out loud, savouring and welcoming when waves of happiness arrive, saying loving kind words to myself, giving love to the dog.
I’m wondering how I can build on this, so that the whole day becomes a series of little celebrations and appreciations. More fun. Not by changing what I do, but how I approach the ordinary little events. I will ponder that. How to celebrate the small things in life more? After all life is a series of seemingly small things. The cups of tea, the dog’s wagging tail….the beautiful orchids in the window ledge.
Learning to Rest with it All 