Hello friends! A beautiful morning to you all. I hope your day has started on a soft note. Mine started with a mini fan blowing directly into my face 😅 and honestly, that’s not surprising. It’s what you get when you move from a usually cold location to one that’s basically best friends with the heat of the land. But it’s alright. One of the wonders of the human body is that, once again, it’ll adjust. So yeah, I guess we can say my morning is starting on a soft-ish note.
This week’s prompt in the Minimalist Community is on mindfulness.
So, how does mindfulness fit into your life as a minimalist? Do you cultivate a weekly mindfulness practice, or play it by ear? Perhaps you've had a revelation relating to mindfulness recently and would like to talk about that.
Thing is, looking back now, I’ve realized I’m not the morning yoga, mocha latte (I hope that’s what it’s called) while wearing silky pajamas and prepping a warm bath kind of girl. My life is very unscripted (as are many others) but also very chaotic.
It’s like I was born with the gene to do the most, from overthinking to multitasking. But that’s alright. I’ve never liked being idle anyway, so whatever productivity looks like to me in the moment, that’s what I do.
Still, as much as I can’t be the quintessential Pinterest girl, I do have my ways of practicing mindfulness, even in the chaos.
Take skincare for instance. I don’t have a long list of products or steps, but the first thing I usually do when I wake up in the morning is wash my face.
I believe one of the key traits of mindfulness is being observant. And for me, that observant eye led me to realize I have oily skin. So even without using the most expensive products, one of the best things I’ve done for my skin is simply washing my face as soon as I wake up, using just water and my niacinamide face wash.
It hasn’t magically saved me from every pimple that tries to invade, but I’ve seen a major difference since I started doing it.
Now this next one is a bit embarrassing 😂. In the moment, I didn’t think of it as mindfulness, but let me give you the gist. So, I love affirmations, alright? But I’m not the girl who stands in front of the mirror saying, “You’re enough, you’re beautiful, you’re strong.” Lovely words, but nope, not my cup of tea.
Instead, while taking my shower, I give out speeches. The kind you give when you’re receiving awards. (Yes, plural. We’re talking multiple-awards-in-a-day kind of speeches. 😌) While others become Beyoncé in the shower, I become Oprah Winfrey. And believe it or not, that motivates me more than repeating affirmations. It affirms who I am and who I can become. I mean, tell me something I don’t already know. (Wink).
One day, I saw a clay mask in my mum’s skincare stash and decided to try it and before I knew it, I was acting out a full-blown spa commercial. It went wrong though. 😭😂
For me, this is mindfulness. Because while minimalism gives me the space to live simply, mindfulness teaches me what to do with that space. It allows me to be fully present, even when the moment isn’t aesthetically pleasing or Pinterest-worthy.
One of the greatest mindfulness hacks I discovered this year was from a video on how to physically de-stress. Ever since I started practicing what it taught, it’s been nothing short of amazing.
Whether I’m working or watching TV, I pause and remind myself: unclench your jaw, relax your shoulders, drop your tongue from the roof of your mouth, soften your face, breathe in, breathe out, stretch if you can… and just like that, my body feels lighter and better.
And the equivalent of this, for the mind and soul, is the art of letting go.
Minimalism taught me to declutter, to stop gripping things or people so tightly. But mindfulness taught me to stay present with what’s left. To hold onto what remains, and see it as valuable. Because once the excess is gone, what’s left is pure gold. But it's important to be able to SPOT those excesses and that's the beauty of minimalism.
So no, I don’t have a strict daily mindfulness routine. I’m not that structured. For now, it’s more of an intentional act. Some days, it’s taking five deep breaths before responding to a stressful email. Other days, it’s simply saying, “No, I need rest” and not feeling guilty about it… that’s if my boss isn’t waiting for a task to be handed in 🤣.
Mindfulness, for me, isn’t about being perfect or consistent. It’s about choosing to return to my body. It’s about looking in the mirror and giving myself that “You go, girl” look instead of saying it out loud.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what has always worked best for me.
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