Bookend
Noun: a support placed at the end of a row of books to keep them upright, typically forming one of a pair.
Verb: be positioned at the end or on either side of (something).
Sometimes the simplest things are the most powerful. I’m a born join-the-dot-er so naturally find myself looking at ideas in one subject or area of life and looking at how that might be applied in another. Do you do that?
Bookending with emotional self care and feminine nurture is starting the day and ending the day with acts of loving kindness to yourself that will not only benefit you, but the effects will also spill over to positively impact your environment including the important people and projects in your life. Your feminine essence influences through expansiveness – it’s like being tapped on the cheek with a feather, but having the energetic impact of a sledgehammer. As your inherent femininity flows, more of your natural radiance will shine through.
Benefits of self care practice (immediate, and cumulative over time):
– Feeling like you have more time.
– Defusing the stress mechanism.
– Simply feeling good.
– Less emotional reactivity.
– Allowing space to receive inspiration, insight and ideas.
– Noticing details and experiencing synchronicities.
– Feeding your femininity, and being attuned to your monthly cycle.
– Learning to pace yourself.
A simple start-the-day-activity (or one of them) for most people, including yours truly, is having a shower. How can you be in the activity more, instead of racing through it to get through to the next thing? And this is always possible whether you have a few minutes or longer to perform your soapy ablutions.
I love water, and simply acknowledging that, every time I hop in the shower feels very nurturing. Even my body wash adds to the experience, as I chose it for a few reasons, and every time I use it, the joy of that aligned choice comes to the fore again. I’m then reminded and encouraged to bring that level of attention to other decisions. If there are things on my mind or concerns that I’m facing I may put them aside for a while or it may be a time to reflect and receive insight, rather than worry.
Some start the day with a hot cup of something, a run or walking the dog, or quieter activities like prayer, meditation and morning pages. These are all part of living and being in life. And for others some of these may be activities that end the day, as well as others like reading, playing with the baby, an essential oils-infused bath, a catch up with a friend or family member or planning the next day’s priorities while listening to some soul-soothing music or simply doing bendy-leg cartwheels to multiple replays of that one-song-you-like-right-now.
What are your bookend activities? To deepen the nurturing effect simply be in the intention of what you are doing.
Enjoy!
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