I just watched a reel online that made me crave a stillness. As a mom of two little ones so much of our lives as a family is busy and noisy. I’ve always known that I need moments of quiet in my day to be regulated and, even though I set that intention at the start of the year, the reality of work commitments, extra murals, children’s parties and life makes it really difficult for us to stay in our bubble. Rather than feeling as though I will never achieve the slower life that I crave I’ve decided to allow for periods where we aren’t as busy to allow myself to experience quiet and rest.
I write this blog post from the garden of a restaurant while Wes supervises the children in the play area; while there’s the buzz of chatter and the sound of children laughing it’s enough for me to feel still because I’m able to not have to respond to anything. Do you ever feel that way? That you just need moments where someone doesn’t need something from you. It may be more familiar with us moms but I think that it extends to many settings, be it in family or friend relationships or your place of work. If you’ve felt this way, how do you approach it? I verbally communicate with those around me that I need some time to myself. In the beginning it felt odd and, at times, I felt that I needed to fake being busy so that people would give me some space but as I’ve journeyed I’ve realised that it’s okay to ask for what you need. People aren’t always going to respond positively and that’s okay; learning to set boundaries has shown me who of the people in my life are in a place to listen to my needs and learn to share theirs with me too. I’ve also learnt to allow myself to say that I’m unable to make a commitment, even if the reason is to allow for down time and it’s felt good.
These thoughts bring me to my intentions for the week. I seem to have this feeling on my heart that’s whispering: it’s okay to reset, realign and rest. Even if the year’s intentions have fallen by the wayside it’s not too late to claw them back to create space for what you’d like to have in your life and that’s made me want to prioritise:
- Rest. I’ve been off to a good start this week as I went to bed at 9:30 pm yesterday. Sleeping enough really gives me more capacity for the joy and responsibilities in my life so it’s time I went back to ensuring that I’m sleeping enough.
- No doom scrolling. When this happens I don’t only end up feeling overstimulated, I also waste so much time that could have been spent getting things done or having down time.
- Going home straight after work. Because I end work early-ish it’s often tempting to pop off to the mall, to make an appointment or see a friend. This week I’ve decided to go home, to stay off my phone and to allow for my brain activity to slow down. It’s crazy how busy my mind is so it would be nice to have it be still, even if it’s only for a few days.
These are very simple, achievable goals for the week but I know that they are going to help me to get back into a healthy rhythm. We’ll tackle my diet, exercise and added activities with the children next week but for now I just need it all to slow down to create space for more.
Has this post resonated with you? Please let me know in the comments what you’d like to set as an intention for the week.
Until my next post,
Bronny xx
