Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

The remedy to hustle culture? We’ve all been there. Caught in the scroll. One minute looking at an aesthetically pleasing post with icons depicting going for a bath, getting out in nature, and meditation. The next are posts on getting less sleep, waking up earlier, and working while other people party.   Self-care or hustle. Happy or successful. Going by social media, it seems you can’t possibly have both. Interestingly self-care is often seen as the remedy to too much hustle and the inevitable burnout from working too hard, for too long, on too little sleep. Prompting the question: Are we practicing self-care for the right reasons? It’s a blurry line. Do we need self-care as a result of how hard we are working or do we need it simply to feel good within ourselves?  In an ideal world, it would be the latter, we’d practice self-care because it feels good and it’s what we want to do. However, this is not an ideal world and we do not always get the option to do what feels good wh...

That Depends on YOU Dear Reader And by you, I mean how you are treating yourself Yes, you have responsibilities and commitments and people who depend on you, BUT, you have to care for yourself first if you are to have anything left to give - Elora Canne https://unsplash.com/@quincoetzee I wrote the following article to help with my recovery, after an out-of-the-blue mental breakdown at work. So I know that the tiny steps I have outlined WORK. They will significantly impact your mental state positively and your outlook for the day ahead: The Art of Restorative Self-Love As a recovering Meltdown Survivor, this is what I’ve learnt.   No-one can love another, male or female, until you love yourself entirely. Not with the vanity of feeling better than anyone else and not by exerting power over another. Self-love involves being gentle with yourself in all interactions, even when you are gently letting go of a person who no longer embraces your desire to live calmly. No human bein...

How to Practice Self Love We're going to take a step back today with the important distinction that it is not a step backWARDS.  We're going to remind ourselves that without self-love our relationships suffer. What does loving yourself mean to you? In my experience, radical self-love is both internal and external. Earlier this week I'd had a bad nights' sleep and woke up feeling it. I recognised the need for a little 'me-lovin' so took myself out into the garden. Alas! There were roadworks out the front (I live in a cul-de-sac!) and a jackhammering neighbour out the back! No space for self reflection outdoors. So what did I do to show myself a bit of self-care? I wrapped myself up in bed. My mindset was nowhere near ready for affirmations of self love so I simply listened to my breath. After just a few minutes my focus turned inward. I noticed that I was well, I was loved and I was very fortunate to be wrapped up in bed. The switch was miniscule. I hardly notice...