Solitude & Sereni.tea

Today is the day. Day 1 of 90, where I make self-care the priority in my life. If you are like me, self-care may be the first thing that goes when life gets busy and everything else becomes super-important. And what happens next is overwhelm, anxiety, accidental harm, and perhaps a breakdown. I have been experiencing 3 of those symptoms, and rapidly heading towards the fourth. And I am not going to let that happen. And so, I have launched this project to help with the above. But also to help me get really clear on what I want from my life. And in order for that to happen, I need to slow down and experience life. Because I can’t plan for my life when my brain is scattered.

Over the next 12 weeks my self-care schedule is going to look a little something like this:

Week 1 – getting outside for 90 minutes every day for consistent exercise
Week 2 – nutrition and making healthier eating choices.
Week 3 – creating a consistent bedtime routine, and improving my sleep.
Week 4 – integrating the previous 3 weeks into a consistent physical health practice.
Week 5 – gratitude, mental wellbeing, and digital detox.
Week 6 – mental health check in, and emotional awareness.
Week 7 -time management, and stress release.
Week 8 – integrating the previous 3 weeks into a consistent mental health practice.
Week 9 – learning, growth, and skill building.
Week 10 – goal setting.
Week 11 – connection building, social and emotional well-being.
Week 12 – integrating the previous 3 weeks into a consistent personal development practice

Did you just get overwhelmed by the list. Me too. But this is going to happen one day at a time. I have tools that I will be sharing. And also there will be a little of mixing of the elements. So some of the things that will be shared on this blog, will be out of order – as I already have some self -care practices that are well established.

My day is not nearly finished, but I have managed to check off a few of the items on my to do list.

I walked for 90 minutes along the seawall.
I meditated for 30 minutes with my meditation group.
I did morning pages, and wrote in my gratitude journal.
I did 35 minutes of somatic yoga (another 20 to go before bed).
I did not rush through my skincare routine.
I had a lovely conversation with one of my most favourite girlfriends.
I ate lunch (have you remembered to eat today?).

When I was walking along the seawall (where the photo was snapped), I found myself getting a bit trapped in obsessive thinking (a conversation for another day, I promise). So I incorporated a bit of a trick that I learned decades ago, which helps me get back into the present moment – you have to account for your five senses – what do I see, what do I smell, what do I hear, what do I feel, and what do I taste. My answers: a view that looks to be a film set (aka no way can this be real, but it is), salt air, Taylor Swift through my AirPods, the fur of the most loving and beautiful golden retriever, matcha latte.

While my intention for this project is to write every day, I know that is a really big ask of myself and so I am going to let myself off the hook right at the beginning. Writing every day simply isnt going to happen. But I will do my very best to write often. This blog is to keep me accountable and not so much for you to keep track of what I do – but feel free to do just that.

The last thing I have to cover in this inaugural post, is the title – Solitude And Sereni.tea
This journey will mostly be a solitary one. There will be times when I will have another soul with me – and of course you are welcome to tag along and create your own self-care practice. And if you do, please share it with me. I would love to support you. As for the Sereni.tea – I find tea to be healing and it’s an important part of my day. It allows me to have 20 minutes all to myself. And when I write, there is always a cup of tea nearby for me to sip from. With every blog post written, a cup of tea will be had. Today I drank Breakfast in Paris from Stash Tea.

Here is some information about why and where this project is happening.