If the message of mental health hasn’t rung clear across my posts, I’m about to speak to it again to start off this post. Whether you struggle with mental health or not, we, as humans, struggle with enjoying the simple things. So many times, I recognize myself getting stuck in a routine and I fail to recognize the beauty in the simple things because they simply don’t exist to me. I just get caught up running through the motions. Everything about the way life has been this year has forced routine, to just get through whatever it is we are doing. So today we are just going to be talking about the simple things.
To start with the most basic of simple things, I’d like to take time to appreciate our senses. I learned to do this in therapy when I was younger, and to this day use it when I am stressed or just feel like I need to ground myself and remind myself how beautiful life is. I call it 5 senses grounding but others call it by different names. This trick, is simply just taking a moment to be present in life. Acknowledge 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, and one thing you can taste. Doing this exercise forces you to enjoy the simple things around you. For example for me, I am sitting at my desk, so I can see my computer, the trees outside, my makeup in bins next to me, my cold water with condensation, and my phone. I can feel the chair, the desk, my sweater, and the necklaces I am wearing. I hear my dogs playing, my partner playing video games, and the music I always play while writing. I smell fall candles, and what I don’t know how else to describe besides “home”, just all the scents of our cleaners, pets, and everything else. I can taste my lunch still in my mouth, it was Asian so rich with flavor that lasts. Just typing all of this I am smiling because it forced me to think about everything. I love my desk space, even though I am used to it. I love the smell of “home” because I know it is unique to our house and family. I can take a moment to appreciate these little things and how much these small details make up my life.
You know what’s a simple thing I bet none of us have done since being a child? Jumping and playing in leaves. Why can’t we, as adults, take time to just play and laugh like a child? Just appreciate small things. Notice how beautiful the leaves are, the giggle you let out hearing that satisfying crunch of leaves, the shine in your partners eyes watching you make a complete fool out of yourself. There’s really nothing like just making fun out of literally nothing. Plus, a chore that becomes fun? That never happens! But why shouldn’t it? Rake some leaves, jump in them, throw the dogs in, or your partner. Just laugh, enjoy the weather, enjoy the simple things we take for granted. We should all just take time and do something simple for ourselves. Can you think of something simple that you enjoy that you haven’t done in a very long time? Or what’s a habit you have held on to for way too long without mixing it up in even the slightest?
For our house hold I know it’s Sunday breakfast. If you’ve followed along my journey, or went back to read anything in the past, you may know every Sunday I make breakfast for us. It never changes, we might talk about switching it up, but every week we have ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches. While there is nothing wrong with it, and I have to brag that I do make great sandwiches, nothing changes. We eat in silence then go about our day. We don’t appreciate it the same way we used to. So this week, I finally switched it up. I made bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese, home fries, and pumpkin waffles. Laid everything out on the table and we ate for an hour. Just laughing, and talking, and enjoying the food. It wasn’t a crazy change of routine but it was different. My partner complimented the breakfast multiple times, which doesn’t happen often since he’s used to the sandwich I make. I actually got him to help prepare the food too. It slowed down our morning and made us give time to each other and to just enjoy ourselves. We didn’t multi-task or rush to finish.
I’m so grateful for my life. While knowing that I’ve been grateful of my life, I never took time to soak it up. I always felt pressured to keep busy or just got stuck in routine. This year, while everything did feel rushed, my biggest goal has been my mental health. Making sure I didn’t allow myself to slip. Making myself take time to look at things around me change my whole outlook. Routines are not as great as they sound, and habits are meant to be broken. I really want to encourage everyone to try something new this week, or just do something you enjoy that you haven’t done in a long time. Respect yourself enough to enjoy the simple things.