One of my favorite things about the blog community is that I get to read some pretty insightful, creative, and thought-provoking ideas on a regular basis. It offers me something that television cannot; an endless supply of ingenuity and classy writing. I peruse the “Freshly Pressed” articles almost daily and have a short list of blogs I love to follow. One of these is wellfesto, and a recent post gave me a whole new perspective on resolutions three months into the new year.
In early March, wellfesto’s “Five Practices to Try This Month” was a clean take on the usual posts and articles on making resolutions. Instead of one concrete goal or a year-long endeavor, this trimmed down its focus to one month with a set of minor changes that would reverberate into a vastly improved life experience. I have already decided to get back to eating healthier foods (my daily salad lunch qualifies as “eating the rainbow everyday”) and exercising more frequently, even on my weeks “on” at work (given I have a 7 days on, 7 days off schedule). I have also started to try to send more handwritten cards. As I wrote about previously, this is an art I truly love and cherish, but I realized I am more often on the receiving end of this gesture rather than at the giving end. Two things I need to work on from that list are to do something to help someone else before I embark on my own work each day and to repeat a mantra each morning. I will need to brainstorm on how to achieve the former goal consistently, but the latter is something I can easily start doing now.
A mantra can be a simple word, an inspirational phrase, or even a moment of meditation on a soothing mental image or peaceful instrumental music. It can be a stretch or physical exercise. It can be prayer. It can be yoga. It can be the smell of a favorite flower. It can be found with a search engine, a pinterest account, a favorite novel, or even in the depths of one’s own personal journal. It can (and should!) change every now and then as our personal perspectives and priorities ebb and flow with time. Here are a few articles on mantras to get started with:
7 Morning Mantras for Dreamers & Doers
Whatever mantra you choose, make it your own and have many happy mornings!
pen . paper . storm 