Hello self-care ninja’s, how has your week been? I hope you had the chance to work on your posture and have some lovely cups of your favourite beverage. My week was full of creating an insect-friendly “fairy garden” and following the movement called Extinction Rebellion. The Best Husband (Jeremy Clarkson voice) in the world and I have joined the group and I am exploring if I can help them from home spreading the word. If you are interested in what they are doing to make a difference to our planet and climate please have a look at “International Extinction Rebellion” and for UK readers at “Extinction Rebellion”

What’s in our mugs this week?

And why mugs in this blog feature anyway? If you have signed up for the Bee Writes…/The Bee Creates… newsletter you got a download about easy daily steps to self-care. One of which is my “Self-appreciation mug”. No, it does not mean to get arrogant about yourself it means to allow yourself a mug (or glass) of your favourite beverage while contemplating what you have achieved and giving yourself praise for it. This is a great way to raise your self-esteem and to realise how far you have come which in turn will encourage to make more changes for the better.

If you are following me for a while then you are aware that I am trying to create a more healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle for us. We are vegetarians, we slowly move towards zero-waste and we share information about climate change and other eco-issues on our social media. You also know that I love a good cup of tea and a spicy creamy coffee. However, joining Extinction Rebellion I have started to question if I can drink tea or coffee that is transported halfway around the world probably by plane with a good conscience. I wish I’d be perfect and just stop drinking it but I am not there yet.

The longer I am on the path to a more sustainable lifestyle the more I learn it has to go step by step. I need to find alternatives that I love so much that I keep doing it. It in a way has to grow organically. So this week we are exploring herbal teas that we can grow in our gardens or on our window sill and balconies. Rachel Talbott from RachelTalbott.com made an informative video on her YouTube channel about growing herbs and making delicious herbal teas. Have fun!

Video Credit: Rachel Talbott on YouTube

Singing in the Rain ~ Week 10 ~ Relaxing Physically

This week Rachel Kelly lets us know about the connection between our bodies and our feelings. Today we often try to manage our emotions on a “Mind over Body” approach. However, the Mind-Body connection works both ways. So when you can’t let your anxious worry thoughts go and everything seems to spin out of control try to relax your body either with a body scan or with the yoga child pose.

I have to admit I have tried the body scan several times but usually fall asleep as soon as I work myself up to my hips. But in my experience, the body-mind connection works quite well. So when I am very anxious I work to concentrate on my breath and consciously strain my muscles and then relax them. Rachel suggests this method too in this weeks chapter. That usually calms me down and makes me aware that most of my fears are assumed and not necessarily reality.

I think these are excellent methods to mindfully care for ourselves and increase our wellbeing.

If you would like to find out about Rachel Kelly’s suggestions for relaxing physically and other ideas for wellbeing then I encourage you to check out Rachel’s “Singing in the Rain ~ An Inspirational Workbook” by Rachel Kelly on Amazon for the full benefit of her suggestions!
(I am not affiliated with Rachel Kelly and get no rewards for this suggestion)

And if you want more of these mindfulness and self-care posts: Please find previous “Mindful Music Monday Mugs” on my abandoned “Bee SelfCaring” blog and the newer posts under the “Mindful Music Monday Mug tag“. There is also an old series called “Music Monday Care & Love“.

Mindfulness in April

Today is Earth Day and I have learned that I am as old as this important event. But I also learned that nearly 50 years onwards politicians still don’t (or even less) take environmental issues seriously.

One reason we joined the Extinction Rebellion in the Uk is our belief that we need to take action in any form possible to change that. Hearing the news about the movement and reading their information has made me realise that practising mindfulness has made me much more aware of how I treat this planet. It also made me realise my responsibility to not let this planet die. No, we don’t go to demonstrations or sit-(ons 😉 )-ins… I don’t think we all need to do these obvious and very obstructive actions.

I feel I need to do a little bit every day to develop a more sustainable lifestyle. Mindfulness is helping me because I concentrate more and more on the moment but I become more aware of what I am actually doing. Does this make sense? Of course, it is important to encourage politicians and big corporations to take action. But if every one of us changes just one little thing every day millions of little actions add up to one hell of a lot of change. Like little bees working together to keep the hive active and create honey.

So I encourage you today to be mindful of your daily actions and start with one change for a more sustainable lifestyle so that our children and grandchildren still can enjoy this beautiful planet.

Here are some suggestions:

~ Do you need to have a shower every day or is a wash down enough? I have started to cut down on my showers because I do not work much physically so I am no really dirty or smell. My grandmother and step-mother are good examples of this practice even though they did and do it for other reasons.

~ Do you use hot water bottles? If so what do you do with the cold water? Do you just chuck it away? Maybe you can use it for watering plants? We do not use it for plants we eat but our houseplants grow wonderfully with it.

~ Switch of your telly when you do not use it. The little light that stays on to show your TV is on standby uses unnecessary energy. You can save some money when you switch it off.

~ Can you switch from packaged vegetables to non-packaged? If you try you will find out that they are not necessarily more expensive.

One thing I have started to do is to charge my phone while I watch tv in bed or read and then switch it off when I go to sleep. Another little step to save energy. I think it is very important not to expect too much from ourselves because the job starts feeling overwhelming. And it is so important, in my opinion, not to feel overwhelmed and helpless. We can do countless tiny things every day to make a difference for this planet if we just let go of the idea that it is hopeless and that we are helpless victims of politicians and corporations.

We are not!

So I encourage you to start your first tiny step today and see where it leads you. Go on! You can do it!!!!

Video Credit: Jen Kluczkowski for TEDxWilmingtonWomen on YouTube