It seems to me that we forget about what is important this time of year. Sure we should be spending more time with family and friends and, of course, there is food to prepare and frolic to be had. But, we also need to take care of ourselves. Selfish? Why, yes. I thought it would be great to end the year with a few of the ways to indulge a little bit more, laugh a little bit louder and find those quiet moments that seem hidden from our reach. So, here is my list of what makes for a better life, selfishly.
1. Buy more flowers! Okay, you may think I am trying to meet a sales goal or something of the like. Not true, sort of. Flowers make you feel better. This past year, as I taught flower class, I expressed to each and every student that flowers are here to make you smile. They make you stop for a moment and feel good about your pause. One or 5 dozen, a flower will truly lift you up and you don't have to wait for someone else to buy them for you.
2. Enjoy a monthly massage. This may seem excessive and overly luxe, but it is a time you can spend feeling pampered without loud noise or sirens, etc. Its your time.
3. Cook. Don't know how? Buy a cookbook and start. All of your senses are aroused when you cook. Your fingers holding and touching the food, perhaps squeezing a tomato or kneading a bread dough. The smells uplift you and tingle in your nose. The sound of a crisp chop when your knife runs through a vegetable or a fruit. And, the reward of the feast when the oven has exhaled its last warm breathe as you pull your hard work from its dark cave...whew, that was a bit like soft porn. Anyway, get in the kitchen, turn off the world, roll up your sleeves and cook.
5. Exercise!! It makes a person feel so good. Even if its just a walk.
6. Spend more time with friends who make you laugh. Afterall, they say its the best medicine.
7. Bed linen!! You spend most of your quiet life sleeping or at least in your bedroom. So find really good linen, spend the extra bucks and make all of those hours sleeping the best time of your life. There is such euphoria in anticipating bedtime when you know there are soft, luxurious, clean sheets and bedding awaiting your arrival.
8. On that note of beds: Stay in bed on a Sunday morning, get the NYTimes and a cup of coffee (best when someone else does it for you) and perhaps a warm croissant, whatever. Truly, truly, truly, this is one of my MOST FAVORITE things to do whether I am traveling or at home. For some reason, it kicks starts your day like nothing else. Ahhh, bliss
10. Finally, enough with the preaching, hey!! Here it is, my final word for the year: Be true to who you are, what you are and what you want to be. Get rid of the toxic people in your life, take care of those who bring you joy, laugh loudly with those who will listen and believe in those who don't always believe in themselves. Be your own brand and enjoy the time you have with yourself because at the end of the day, that's all you have, you. Bump in the road? Fill it up and move on. My point is this, simply, if you can't be happy with being with yourself, then you can't be happy for the people who need you most. When my dad was dying, he asked for only one thing from me and that was that I take time to appreciate the moments that are good in life. Much like stopping to smell the roses. I try very hard to abide by my promise to him and to myself.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Be good to yourself, first.
I'll see you in the New Year,
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment