Hello July! I don’t usually write these monthly recap/updates/goals because I’m terrible with routine and checking things off lists, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about conscious mornings and so many things aligned: conscious mornings bring together values that I’ve shared on the blog previously in the form of my 52 project last year, which was based on mornings; the beginning of a month is a beautiful time to start anything, geometrically speaking (well, not geometrically speaking, but something about that word conveys what I feel, I think, so imma plop it there); Rae of Love from Berlin introduced #theCLmovement. If all that isn’t a sign, then I don’t know what is!
#theCLmovement
Love from Berlin is one of my favourite blogs. I am constantly inspired by this amazing woman who is spurred not just by passion, but perhaps even more importantly, by purpose as well. LFB’s tagline is “conscious lifestyle and creation” after all. Call it purpose, call it intention, call it conscious living. What’s the point if you have no point? Last month, Rae, the creative mind behind the blog, introduced #theCLmovement, which stands for the Conscious Living movement, to create “a community space is for us to be able to share our thoughts and content with each other.” I’m on board! Are you?
Conscious living
There are so many aspects of my life and my self that I can improve on. The most apparent aspects are on food and fashion, both topics that seem to be very trendy at the moment, but we always need to be conscious of whether the choices we’re making are for the right reasons (hopefully a reason that’s bigger than being trendy). On food, I don’t necessarily mean going vegan, but at the very least being conscious of where the food I’m consuming is sourced from. On fashion, I mean purchasing clothes from ethical brands, which I know will be tough for me, because I’m always looking for the best bang for my buck, which often translates to cheaper clothing, which isn’t always sustainable by ethical brands because they’re not cutting corners, which is awesome, so we should support them. So many things I can and need to improve on! So I’m gonna start small and I’m gonna start here.
Why conscious mornings?
Mornings set the tone for the rest of the day, at least for me, so it’s important to me to start them off right. A new day is full of possibilities. All I need to do is take care of myself and set myself up in a good place to take them. A conscious morning is where everything begins, and so I will begin here as well.
Morning Goals
Because I’m working 9-5 this summer (until the end of July!) and I have a 30 minute commute before that, I actually don’t have very much of the morning to myself, but I will try to make the most of the little time I have.
1 // No social media.
Except for Snapchat maybe. Ugh, idk. I’ll use my best judgment. We all know how easy it is to get sucked into the world of social media. Before I know it, my whole morning will be gone and all I’ll have done was scroll through feeds. There are much better ways I could spend my time, like making a hearty breakfast, going on a walk, reading, or even just sleeping.
2 // Pull the curtains.
Soak up some of dat Vitamin D. Let the body know that it’s morning and time to get up and at ’em, in case it didn’t get the memo. All I need to do is pull the curtains and the sun will do the rest. I don’t know why I don’t already do this. Such small investment for such large return. It’s almost like sabotaging myself by not doing it.
3 // Drink a glass of water before breakfast.
Preferably with a drop of lemon essential oil to cleanse the palate. There are so many health benefits to drinking a glass of water upon waking up but I will not list them here because the information is so easily accessible, courtesy of Google.
4 // What are you looking forward to today?
After writing it all out (all of three goals), I realized that the goals I set didn’t strike me as especially conscious goals. I mean, sure I have reasons that are even scientifically-backed. But after setting these goals/tasks, carrying them out is… brainless, save for reminding myself to do them. So even though I usually like keeping my to-do list to three key items, I’m going to add this fourth exercise and ask myself what I’m looking forward to for the day. I think it’s important to be excited for life, to make the choice to be happy, and to give myself something real to be happy about.
Bonus // Slow mornings over the weekend.
And/or jumpstart the day by literally jumping out of bed. Then read a book and drink some tea. Get some peace of mind. Play some music and create an ambiance. (I’ll be playing this guitar cover of Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie.) Crochet some doilies and pick some flowers. Okay I went a little too far there. But seriously, this is beautiful.
And there you have it! These goals are very small, but since I can’t honestly say that I already do even just the first three of these every morning, I think this is a valid list of goals. I have no doubt the small things will make all the difference.
I’d also like to give a shout out to Catherine of The Blissful Mind and Joana of Notes from Joana for their fantastic monthly goals that I always look forward to reading, so head on over there if you’re looking for more inspiration!
PS: 2016 goals