Hello self-care ninja’s, how has your week been? Did you take last weeks post as a reminder to appreciate the little things in life? I did and it also was a reminder to me to write down 10 things I am grateful for every day. I had stopped this good habit a couple of weeks ago and it wasn’t good. No, it wasn’t. But that is another story.

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.

I celebrate today that I am getting back into the habit of writing down 10 things I am grateful for every day. It is so uplifting, to do that because it reminds me of how blessed I am. But I also celebrate our first mint harvest of the year. We have planted three mints: apple-, spear- and peppermint which give a wonderful tea singly but also as a mixture.

That is why this week’s mugs smell of fresh mint and we go a little exotic too: I found this great video from Alia who explains how Moroccan Mint Tea is made. This is like a little tea ceremony and should make your day a little more festive:

video credit: Alia via YouTube

Singing in the Rain ~ Week 12 ~ Playing like a Child

Yesterday, the best husband (Jeremy Clarkson voice) in the world and I were watching an episode of “Ben Fogle’s New Life’s in the Wild”. He took us to Africa to a couple who chose to live a nomadic life in a Nature Reserve. They went on a Safari and suddenly saw a cheetah and just screeched happily like children “A cheetah” before they remembered they had to be silent to not scare the beautiful and rarely seen animal.

I mentioned to the hubby that I love it when grown-ups keep their childlike wonder and happiness about what they see. And according to Rachel Kelly’s book, this is a good thing to have. As children, our logical part of the brain isn’t as developed. This allows us to stay in the moment and not to bother with the past or the future. So any regret or worry isn’t bothering us particularly. We just go out and enjoy what we discover and play around just for fun.

Developing a child-like play habit is good for us according to “Singing in the Rain” because for a little while we can let go of all things that bother us. Do you remember what you liked doing as a child? Maybe you make a list and try one thing out today.

Rachel’s book offers you a couple of exercises and ideas to bring back your childlike play. If you would like to use it I encourage you to check “Singing in the Rain ~ An Inspirational Workbook” by Rachel Kelly on Amazon.
(I am not affiliated with Rachel Kelly and get no rewards for this suggestion)

Mindfulness in May

Oops 🙂 nearly kept this feature as “Mindfulness in April” 😉

Well, as you might have read I have started to support the “Extinction Rebellion” movement with regular blog posts about their work, principles and goals. I believe that anyone who practises mindfulness does develop a greater awareness of the negative impact human activity has on this planet. I also believe we develop an urge to do something about it and change our own behaviour towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

It looks like this is not only some fancy idea or feeling of mine. Other’s came to the same conclusion as last week’s mention of the Mindful Climate Action program in the US shows. (Find links to Mindful Climate Action programs here on this Google search).

This week I share a TEDx Talk by artist Sara Overton in which she explains why this is the case: Mindfulness brings back our connection with the world surrounding us: Nature becomes a part of us and is not something outside our being. Please enjoy:

video credit: TEDx & Sara Overton via YouTube