5 Ways To Soothe Your Soul

Ever need that solitary boost – when you’re feeling a bit down or quietly introspective or just need to recharge yourself?

How do you soothe your soul? What brings you back to a calmer state, a feeling of well-being, of security and warmth?

5 Ways to soothe your soul:

1.  Sit by the ocean watching and listening to the waves. Feel the breeze, smell the salt, touch the velvety sand. All our senses come alive.

One of my favorite things to do on a summer evening, (after the official lifeguard hours are over) is to climb up onto the lifeguard chair and look out into the huge expanse of water, watching darkness take over. I am swept to another place as total relaxation enters into my body. My thought is always, how the world is so beyond us- in expanse, in depth, in scope, in understanding.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea.”  EE.Cummings

2.  Sit with a fun mug of tea, coffee or hot chocolate- whatever you fancy. Embrace the mug and feel its warmth. Let it take care of you. It can be a pleasurable activity in its own right when we drink it mindfully.

Hot chocolate is my preference with lots of foam served in a big fat mug; the hotter the better. When I’m not in the mood for chocolate (a rarity) then tea is the drink of nurturance. And TJMaxx is the place for those funky mugs.

“If you are cold, tea will warm you; If you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.” Gladstone (1865) Victorian British Prime Minister

3.  Light a scented candle and climb into your cozy spot with a good   book. Take in the smell and take in the words. It can transport you.

“Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.” Paul Auster (The Brooklyn Follies)

4. Turn on music of your liking. Let it move you and take you towards a state of relaxation and calmness or towards moving to its rhythm. Music can get inside us if we let it and really move our ‘kishkes’ (insides)

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Red Auerbach

5.  Bring forth a memory – one that makes you feel good inside. Sit with the feeling that it evokes. Bask in it. Memories are our treasure chest. We keep them forever with us inside and call upon them when needed.

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss

 

What can you add to this? How do you nurture yourself?

Thank you for reading.