My Birthday is in exactly one week, and truth be told: I have zero – ZERO! – ideas or plans what I am going to do that day.
Truth be told also: I am way too exhausted for any kind of shenanigans at this point. The first couple of months of this year have taken their toll on me, and I have just absolutely no capacities (mentally, especially) to focus on anything that requires “planning” at this point.
But y’all know what?
That’s perfectly okay!
I wasn’t gonna celebrate, anyway, as I have kind of “outgrown” that part of having a Birthday. *shrugs* And who knows – maybe I will find something entirely spontaneous to have a day out whatsoever. It’s nothing that special anymore, I’ll just have completed another lap around the sun and turn a year older. So there.
But, I digress …on to the real topic here, namely those little things in life.
A couple of months ago, an online friend of mine made me aware of that little selfcare app called “Finch”. It’s a little bird that you name, dress and go on virtual adventures with daily. You can also complete small tasks on there, but don’t have to. If you feel you have too many tasks on your list, just remove some or mute them for a while.
And this adorable wee app has helped me a lot recently to just stay afloat. Last month, I participated in the “Fun in the Sun” challenge, which were 14 extra tasks such as visiting a place in your city you haven’t been to, going on an unplanned adventure (this was a bit tricky, tbh, as I need to make some plans in advance, as in: especially hydration, how to get there and back yadda yadda), sketching a quick view from your window, …that kinda thing. And I can honestly say – I had SO MUCH FUN with this! Slowed me and my ever churning mind down for a bit, made me chuckle (I mean …playing outside with a paperplane I had built earlier?! YES PLEASE!), and also gave me some creative tasks in between.
The second to last task before reflecting on the challenge itself was to dedicate yourself to a crafty project (which could be anything, drawing, painting, journaling …) for 15mins. As someone who just loves and enjoys journaling in all its forms, that one was a task I had been specifically looking forward to.
The result: one page about my favorite flowers out there, the sunflower. I was playing around with stickers, an old postcard (the big sunflower in the lower left corner), die cuts and that kinda thing and thoroughly enjoyed this. I am not sure how long I was actually working on that page, but it doesn’t matter, anyway (it was definitely longer than 15mins), as all I cared about was being “in the moment” and watching that page come to life.
Another thing I have come to appreciate about this cute little selfcare app is that there is one task about finding little joys in daily situations. And that can be anything, really. A bumblebee being busy collecting pollen? Little joy. A doggo that was happily wagging their tail when they saw you? Little joy. Finding that book you’ve been looking for? Little joy. The smell of the air after a lush summer rain? Little joy.
Our lives have become so busy and fast that we tend to not notice those small things and treat them as if they don’t matter. And only later, we realize that it’s more often than not those little things that DID matter in the end and had an impact that very day. Something as small as a busy bumblebee can be a big thing in the end. Because while watching her, you stopped for a while, locked out the world around you and just took a moment to appreciate a cute, little insect. That dog that was so excitedly wagging its tail when it saw you? You couldn’t help but notice. Maybe the doggo even asked for some cuddles. Another moment to slow down and appreciate something so mundane as a pet that was happy to meet you.
Taking all this into consideration, I do make sure daily to find something that makes me smile, and it can be anything, really. As long as it’s given me a little joy. Which is wholesome as well, especially since this world has turned into a dumpster fire galore.
********
photos: mine
Ocean Soul 