A lovely meal complete with fresh produce, wine sauce for the main entrée that brings deep satiation to your taste buds, a glass of wine, and a thoughtful table setting meant to be used and appreciated.
One such moment in our everyday lives when shared with ourselves or with others is to practice daily self-care. Our meal-time moments matter. Our places about the home and the garden which invite us to sit and be present whilst donning our sun hat as we ponder all that is growing well and what could use a helping hand matter, or simply sitting and sipping a cuppa or coffee or cool lavender lemonade while savoring Mother Nature's
gifts.
These moments that offer comfort, peace and a reminder of all that is well and lovely in our everydays matter immensely, and I hope you are enjoying them regularly and without apology. As I shared in this week's Monday's Motivational post, amongst all of the loss, frustration,
pain and uncertainty during our present times are also gifts for us to grab ahold of and make the most of. What if we used this time to acknowledge and then actively and forever-forward incorporate self-care practices into our daily lives? In episode #242 I shared 31 Ways to Practice True Self-Care, and I find myself from time to time
when I need a reminder of not only its importance but also what exactly the practices can be, returning to this post and list to reread.
However, the key with self-care is that it is a practice. It is something that must be consciously done initially in order for its benefits to be experienced over time. Case in point: I have found over the past couple of years I have become deeply comfortable with silence, so much so that when I am around
others who have known me for a long time who need to be busy and have more buzzes and dings and elevated volumes of noise swirling around them, unfortunately, some of them comment that I am sensitive to noise. Initially, this hurts my feelings, but then I gather myself and am reminded that their commentary is a reflection of their life experience and not mine. In fact, I am more aware of what is about me, and thankful to have the ability to monitor or edit or remove what is unnecessary and
even more bothersome and negatively influential than I had once realized. This ability is something I celebrate and do all that I can to protect and nurture. Such a practice is an example of self-care, not a detriment as I am practicing awareness of what elevates or deflates the quality of living well.
Being mindful of our environments, especially our homes, and what brings us calm, what brings us joy and reason to celebrate and enables our minds to unwind, wander and be, is to practice self-care. We will arrive at the individual practices that bring us rejuvenation when we give ourselves the space to explore. Often when we choose to change a daily or weekly habit we have done for years, the initial change is jarring. So much so it can be
tempting to return to what we have always done. However, be patient with yourself. Sit and be still during the transition period, observing how you begin to feel and what eventually subsides until you do not realize it has gone. Why? Because something better has finally had a chance to present itself and reveal itself.
Two examples of such a transition period being uncomfortable yet necessary in order to welcome true self-care into the everyday have been unfolding in my own world these past two weeks. Let me begin with my Oscar (my elderly English cocker spaniel) who had surgery two weeks ago to remove a couple of growths that have
been agitating him, prompting him to itch and scratch frequently throughout his days. The first day after the surgery, he was a busy-bee and moving about the house with his head-cone far more than an Energizer Bunny might. It didn't make sense to me at first. Shouldn't his body be exhausted? Shouldn't he be resting? But then the next day he did rest, and then the next day his normal sleep routine returned, and in time, he was going about his days normally and calmly without itching profusely as
if he had entirely forgotten that such behavior used to be part of his routine that ultimately caused him and his body excessive strain and stress.
In hindsight, I realized that likely that first day of constant movement was a day of agitation as his body was adjusting to the new feeling, the drugs wearing off and his body trying to begin the healing process - a new feeling of renewal he had never felt before, but also something uncomfortable because of its "newness". However, he made it through that day and each day thereafter became far more comfortable than anything he had
experienced in the recent years.
My second example has to do with the transition being made with the weekly newsletter to a monthly newsletter, something of which you as a TSLL newsletter subscriber are a part of. Last Friday was extremely weird to know I had not put out a newsletter as I have for ten years. It felt somewhat wrong as though I had lost the line of communication with TSLL community that I dearly love and appreciate. However, as the past seven days have unfolded, I have
found my mind better able to see more clearly what I want to share with you, how to share it well with more detail (an example being this week's Front Porch tour of TSLL House) and have the mental space to make necessary adjustments to projects for the blog (I am incredibly excited about the podcast interview
that was just secured for French Week!), upcoming book content and home customizations so that I am indeed living truly simply luxuriously and demonstrating sincerely that it is possible, and it is worth the investment of careful consideration and examination, as well as monetary dedication where warranted. While this summer is still the transition period for the newsletter, and I am still feeling my way through knowing how to best bring you a much-anticipated monthly newsletter each time, so
far what I have found I want to add or include are images that have never been shared on the blog or Instagram (as seen above); I am going to be sharing more of my own life journey, thus the Letter from the Editor may be a bit longer as you are seeing today; and I will ALWAYS keep this newsletter free-of-charge as I know different bloggers as of late are changing how they share their content. But now I would like to get back to our conversation about
self-care.
It occurred to me recently that we learn the practice of self-care by what we observe. Whether based on how we were raised or how we have been treated as guests when invited to others' homes or when we see how someone else has taken care of themselves but also shown us how we too can relax and feel comfortable and at ease in the moment, we become more inspired to feel we too can treat ourselves this way. Interior designer Rita Konig shares in her design course when talking about decorating the bedroom that the bed and bed linens should be prioritised above all else. Whether for your bedroom or for your guests, it is an act of self-care/care as it is the bed that people see first and will remember as they will be slumbering amongst the luxurious linens for
6-8 hours, not the curtains or the wallpaper. Similarly, when you have invited guests for a dinner party or aperitif or afternoon tea, greeting them immediately (whether a stand-alone table with drinks that they can grab as they walk into your home before you greet them or your offering a tray of drinks at the door) with something refreshing and simple to hold in their hand is a comfort given, a simple thoughtful gesture to bring them ease in a space that is new to them or not their own.
Creating welcoming conversational spaces to gather that are comfortable and beg the guest and yourself to linger and relax, these are examples of practicing self-care and how we learn to be kind to ourselves. Such gestures need not be special occasions, but regular everyday ways of life through how we decorate, how we enjoy our meals and nibbles, the pace and daily routines and rituals.
Today, ponder for a moment, how you model self-care to those in your immediate proximity. What are those around you learning? Is the energy you are unconsciously extending riddled with unease and agitation due to your inability to sit still without berating yourself for doing so? Or do you practice regular moments of thoughtful repose - a making of your cuppa, a settling into a lovely space on the porch, soft birdsong or favorite
melodies to fill the summer air? I know which practice I would feel most at ease around. I know what life I would prefer to be living, and I know you do too. May you create a life filled with regular moments and practices of self-care and may the quality of your life improve as a result.
In today's newsletter the tour of my home continues. As I mentioned above, the front porch received some fresh paint and new lighting, and yep, a swing was the dream finally realized. I wanted to take a quick moment to share with you that I have updated in TSLL's Archives TSLL's House posts to Le Papillon as that is the name of my house. So if you are looking for past posts on the journey of customizing my home and the decorating and design process, simply look for Le
Papillon and you will find all that has been posted.
As well, a new French recipe has been shared and oh . . . my . . . goodness . . . is it delicious and simple! Impress yourself and your guests and family when you make a French Cheese and Herb Soufflé. Be sure to read the new Sunday posting I have begun to share on the blog (click through on the images and/or
dates you will see under "Sunday Mornings") where I offer a few random thoughts, links to what I am enjoying that particular weekend and pics of what used to be shared on Instagram but will now be exclusively on the blog. And the favorites - two This & That posts to keep your weekend full of reading and items to explore and the monthly regular posting of Things That Made Me Smile. Rest assured, all of the posts that were shared in the past two
weeks on the blog are compiled for you to peruse through below at your leisure.
Thank you for choosing to subscribe to TSLL newsletter. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, and safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend if you are celebrating. Until July 17th, I will see you on the blog.
~Shannon
