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Life can be incredibly chaotic at times to the point where we sometimes start to justify neglecting our physical and mental wellbeing in pursuit of getting more 'important' things out of the way.
I mean, let's not even get to the topic of stress and its long term effects... just think about the subtle warning signs:
Turning a deaf ear on the bass resonance of your empty stomach and pretending it's your colleague's.
Crossing and uncrossing your legs in attempts to will your bladder to hold it while you finish something off.
Waking up burnt out in the morning, like you've just been run over by a truck. Then drugging yourself up with caffeine and sugar to make yourself believe that whatever you felt before was just an illusion. Sometimes you alternate this with lies to yourself that it will all be better eventually.
Sound familiar?
Five years of self neglect while studying architecture has taught me the hard way that if you're not careful to set aside time to nurture yourself with things that make you happy, it's almost too easy to lose your soul to the whirlwind that transforms you into a bitter and empty shell.
Today with a relatively more structured life I thank the existence of weekends and days off for enabling me to human-ify myself through my Me Time rituals. Me Time for me varies from preening my gorilla hands and nails to look more human, to the one hit wonder decision to go for a run. One weekly Me Time ritual that I have established since uni, though, is the cleaning ritual, and it looks like this:
Pre-Clean
I start my day with a no alarm clock morning. Pure bliss.
Once my gears kick start I ninja roll myself out of bed to breakfast. Coffee is mandatory.
I read random articles on my Buzzfeed app. Baby animal posts are a must.
My energy level kicks off and I start cleaning my flat.
Clean
Sometimes this ritual takes 2 hours and sometimes it takes 8.
It all depends on whether I decide to deep clean every single crevice or just the usual weekly clean.I usually have the radio on, and I am lost in my own world and my train of thoughts.
I find cleaning extremely therapeutic: There's just something about uncovering a shiny and clean layer. It feels liberating when my pile of rubbish is discarded out of sight. My eye stops twitching at the sight of things lying out of place. At some point the smell of bleach makes me a little giddy, so windows are opened and the flat welcomes the breeze of fresh air. At the same time I feel like the mental mess from the week is also being put away to welcome a fresh new start.
Post Clean
Once I'm satisfied with my effort I proceed to drown myself in the shower until I prune and I step out feeling fresh, recharged and brand new. I make a trip to the supermarket. Sometimes I treat myself to flowers because they enhance my 'happy space' and beam at me from the window when I wake up.
OK, so I have no idea what happened to these guys but I promise you they looked happy before! Oh well. I cook a nice dinner. Today it's stuffed portobello mushrooms. Bloated and happy, I either indulge in my pile of books to read, or just watch a movie until I feel tired enough to sleep.
This day is reserved purely for Me.
It's simple, but it has the power to make me content, recharged, and happy.
Do you have a Me Time ritual? How do you spend yours?
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