Art and Soul
By now we know that self-care is key to healing your body, mind and soul (and sanity!) but women tend to be not-so-good at putting this knowledge into practice. This past weekend is a great example of just ONE of the ways I refresh and rejuvenate for the week so I thought I’d share. (and it’s not even nutrition or fitness related, wow!)
While you may have a giant to-do list most weekends- cleaning, working, caring for children, catching up on laundry (ALWAYS) and oh yeah, maybe a social life (I’m working on that one) I have found that by squeezing in something CREATIVE, I feel more relaxed, rejuvenated and happy by the time Sunday night rolls around. Sound too good to be true? Try it! Creativity taps into the right side of our brain which can help balance out that left-dominant thinking we use in every day life and can even increase our HAPPINESS! Over the years I’ve adopted many little hobbies and the inspiration usually pops into my head and I can’t get it out until I just DO IT! (pretty sure my friends and husband think I’m insane) This weekend it was jewelry.
Like always, I get an idea, set a budget ($20 or less works for me so there’s no guilt if it winds up in the trash, which it never has) and then I get after it. My weekends are full of those things mentioned above (mostly kids and cleaning and LAUNDRY) but in the moments in between, instead of being on my phone, mindless snacking or vegging out on the couch I choose to create. Sometimes I sew, or paint, both of which I am not very good at but it simply makes me happy to use my head and hands and create.
This time it was a necklace, and since there were extra beads, soon there were bracelets too (and now I totally want an Etsy shop...I’m kidding, mostly.) My point, it was so freeing for my brain that I woke up Monday morning feeling like I had an ACTUAL weekend. You know when people ask you what you did over the weekend and you simply can’t even remember…that’s no bueno. If you’re filling your weekends with a combination of chores and crap food or alcohol, you’re probably not feeling so rejuvenated by Monday morning. Try squeezing in some creative time and see where it goes. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, and your brain will thank you.