My life is busy. I like it that way. Family time, entertaining friends, work and travel. All chosen, all loved. 

Dogs that need to be fed and walked, creative deadlines, health appointments, dinners to be made, people who need things from me and places I need to be. 

Would I love to clear my calendar, move to the country, tend my animals and bake sourdough? Nope. Well, maybe occasionally but for the most part I love my full days exactly as they are. 

But I start to notice when the full days add up and begin chipping away at my nervous system. I breathe in and hold. My jaw tightens. I start chewing on my cheeks. My meditations feel antsy. I feel agitated and rushed. 

Recently I was getting ready to shower and started pulling off my clothes and flinging them towards the basket inside out. I felt rushed and full of urgency. 

But why? I wasn’t late. I had nowhere to be. There was no reason to get in and out of the shower and back to the sofa four seconds faster.

I paused, walked over, picked up the item, turned it right side out and proceeded to do that with all my remaining clothes. 

It was so simple, and it changed my energy completely. I inhaled slowly, exhaled completely and stepped into the shower. 

And then I remembered someone saying that to help you slow down and be more present, you should name what you are doing. I’m washing my hair. I’m conditioning my hair. I’m shaving my legs. 

Instead of my brain spending my entire shower experience reliving the one thing I said ten years ago that still makes my cheeks burn or catastrophizing the future, I was present. Everything slowed down. 

It felt nice. Real nice. I wanted more. 

I began to find little ways to feel that way more often. Little moments of calm and presence that break up a full day.

Here are a few that are working for me. 

I start my day early and slowly. 

I meditate for 10 minutes every morning before I ever get out of bed. I either do a quiet solo meditation or I open my meditation app and do a guided one. Depends on how busy my brain is. I also write every morning by candlelight. I start my day with all the woo-woo. This morning I wrote myself a love letter. Some mornings I talk shit about people who are annoying me. Some days, I won’t lie, it’s a list of things I need to get done. But I almost always put pen to paper before I scroll. I make my bed. That does two things for me. One it tells me I don’t have to hurry into the next part of my day and two it allows me to exhale every time I walk by it. There’s something about a tidy bed that feels calming.

I turn my clothes right side out before I throw them in the hamper.
See above 🙂 

I thank the earth that grew my coffee. 

I learned this one from the book, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It’s such a small thing but it begins my day with presence, calm and gratitude. She has a much more eloquent way of saying it. I just say something like, “Thank you to this beautiful planet that allowed this mood enhancing coffee to grow for me.”

I Take Walks

I love to take walks. It’s my time to forget the world around me. To think creatively, dream or listen to a book. Escaping the noise is one of my favorite ways to slow life down.

I drive with classical music playing. 

This one is one of my favorites. You know those moments in a movie where the classical music is playing and something very significant is happening? You can have those moments every day. 

Choose a classical playlist for five-ish minutes of your drive. No books, podcasts or loud music. Just a calm, significant five minutes of presence. The world around you will look different. Your whole body will feel different. I dare you to give it a try. And take the long way occassionally. There’s no rush.

I try to take time to appreciate my meal. 

I am BAD at this one and constantly work on it. I like to maximize my time and far too often eat and work at the same time. Eat your food and know you are eating. Treat it like the coffee above. Thank the earth for the gifts. The animal that is sustaining you. The grapes that were stomped and now fill your glass. 

I do one thing at a time. 

This one is hard. I am a multi-tasker. I will never perfect this one, but I notice a big difference when I choose to do it. Don’t brush your teeth while checking Instagram. Don’t take the conference call while doing the laundry. Don’t stack tasks. Do one thing at a time. (Sometimes.)

I have a nighttime ritual. 

I love a good magnesium soak at night. A glass of tea or a magnesium drink. Room lit only by candles. I read, or sometimes scroll (honesty is important) or do Wordle. 

Speaking of honesty, I don’t go to bed screen-free at night. My mind is too whacky for that. I watch a show in bed and fall asleep every night. Usually Murder She Wrote or my newest obsessions Grantchester and The Marlow Murder Club. 

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s not to become a zen master. There’s not enough time, or maybe lifetimes, to turn me into that. It’s about finding little pockets inside the life I already have to slow down, notice and exhale the urgency.