Happy 2019! Who else is glad — grateful, but glad — that 2018 is so over and behind us?
But forget resolutions and the 12 month goal list that you perfected on beautiful stationary. We all want to achieve our goals, I get that. Two of the topics I am so passionate about is increasing the awareness of mental health and breaking the stigma, as well as addressing the importance of self-care practices and habits.
It becomes more and more evident with each passing tweet that we are a nation of overworked and stressed-to-the-max consumers with a declining attention span and a rabid desire for instant gratification…but we are so damn distracted that we genuinely do not see that we can find our magic and live a life free from fear and judgment.
[ photo credit: Apartment Therapy]
One thing I want to do before continuing this blog post is to simply invite you to be honest with how you genuinely feel about your life in its entirety: are you being the best version of yourself to family? your circle of friends? Moreover, are the people you spend time with good for you? What about the food you consume and the content you ingest on an hourly basis online? Think of it as sitting down with yourself, no bullshit allowed, and evaluating how you are performing in the relationship with yourself. Trust that it will be one of the most important things you start this year out by doing.
So, self-care. It seems like it’s the buzzword of the moment, doesn’t it? But by engaging in moments of slow presence, self-awareness, and gratitude, our mood increases while that cortisol decreases. It’s as simple as buying yourself a bouquet of flowers. This is something I have done for years, single or in-a-relationship. Because guess what? We’re focusing on the relationship with YOU, not him or her or them. I came across this article by Brit+Co on a recent study performed by the University of North Florida called The Impact of Flowers on Perceived Stress Among Women.
Even just living with a fresh, floral arrangement can achieve the following:
- increase energy
- strengthen feelings of compassion
- reduce stress
- foster creativity
The human element and moral of the story here being that this is such an inexpensive and easy way to implement flowers into our modern, often nature-less life. Scholars and public health officials like Professor Erin Largo-Wight are taking these findings and supporting environmental design with floral elements.
So, next time you’re in the grocery store, farmer’s market, or Amazon Fresh, don’t forget to grab a few flowers that catch your eye that day and take comfort in knowing that you are taking care of yourself and spicing up the living room at the same time.
Love & light,
Melissa
thatonefashionblog.com 