Day 112/366 days Towards Self-Mastery
Daily reminders of simple luxuries is very supportive for me right now. With so much drama in the air, I'm withdrawing from the noise of social media, the collective anxiety and cocooning in my home and neighbourhood.
The geek in me is aware that our sense of smell is our most primal sense. In less than a millisecond we'll know if a scent is to our liking or completely off the mark. Kind of why dogs and other animals have such a keen sense of smell. If my cat thinks her food is even slightly off, she won't touch it.
Scents in my garden are an absolute delight. Each morning as I do my daily rounds I make a point of pressing the leaves of herbs and citrus in my hands and wafting in the aromas. In the ecosystem that is our life and habitat those scents can be naturally supportive. Especially so if we've taken the time to plant those fruits, herbs and veg that really serve us, we know that we love them, and we're committed to putting our love into looking after them and caring for them.
When we begin to notice that the world close around us, our own environment, our homes and gardens are truly our own creation, we're surrounded by our decisions and choices and the way we do life, we're motivated to make our choices more consciously.
Planting only those that really speak to me means that my garden will eventually be filled with fruits and veggies that specifically meet my needs, and I like to think that it will be a garden that is flavoured with scents that support my health and wellbeing. Limes, not lemons as I find lemons too strong. Mandarines, not oranges for the same reason. An evergreen basil because I don't use enough to grow sweet basil that is a seasonal variety. Hass avocados because I love the creamy texture, magnolias and gardenias that fill the evening air with a heady, rich scent.
Another simple way to bring healing and uplifting scents into your life is through those gorgeous little bottles of joy, aromatherapy.
There are so many ways to use aromatherapy essences. I'm guilty of limiting myself due to my own lack of insight and creativity.
Choose the scents that really speak to you, that you simply love the aroma of, and play with them.
Google up all the ways that you can bring them into your life. There must be a multiple ways of including gorgeous scents into your life.
My little cabinet of aromatherapy essences has housed a few practical basics and a selection from more courageous decisions I made a long time ago, then didn't know how to use.
With my bent towards health and wellbeing, eucalyptus, tea tree, rosemary and oregano to support me through the winter have been gently atomised in my burner. Lavender has been a favourite for helping me drift off to sleep. Frankincense has become a favourite for its medicinal and sleep promoting qualities.
More recently I've had the pleasure of receiving my very own signature perfume, an alchemy of my favourite notes citrus, and bergamot, cacao and other deliciousness that I can't recall. A small vile of the most exquisite perfume that I have ever purchased. This is my most treasured scent.
Today I'll bring out some of those scents that have been there forever, they never seem to go off, and I'll experiment a little more. It's time to engage my senses and extend my knowledge and skill with these divine bottles of joy.
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.