This content may contain affiliate links, meaning: at no additional cost to you, I earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate or other affiliate program participant, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ostara
A Course for Self Care & Celebration
Lesson Two
-
Ostara & Finding Intentional Joy
Ostara and the start of spring is the perfect time to practice some gentle self-care and invite more intentional joy into our lives. One of the best (and hardest) self care practices for many people is taking time for themselves. We are conditioned to reward being busy and a stacked schedule often serves as validation for our exhaustion. Balancing careers, family, health and a social life can be overwhelming - throw in a pandemic, remote learning and heaps of social unrest, and well….you get the picture…. So in this lesson we will look at the very simple art of taking back your time in order to add some intentional joy into your life.
Take Time For Yourself
I think the crux of a lot of stress and unhappiness in our modern world can be traced back to a lack of time. Or the perception that we don’t have enough time in our days. We would eat better, if we had more time to cook. We would exercise, if we had more free time. We would relax and enjoy ourselves if we just had time to get all the other stuff done first. Time always seems like a precious commodity - and there is never enough of it. And yet - if we’re honest with ourselves, we also waste a lot of time on things that, ultimately, don’t add value to our lives. How much time do you spend mindlessly scrolling the internet? Worrying about things you can’t change? Worrying about things that, if you were honest with yourself, aren’t any of your business? At what point does a Netflix binge go from much needed relaxation to outright avoidance or procrastination?
Finding Intentional Joy
In many ways, we are the makers of our own lives. While I would love for my kids to clean the house without me asking or receive an impromptu bouquet of flowers from my partner, I find that if I wait on other people to make me happy, most days are kind of ho-hum. This doesn’t mean that I find no joy from the people around me. I absolutely do! But I also know that there are many small ways that only I can make my cumulative days better, by adding in some intentional joy. This includes things like yoga in the morning, giving myself time to journal each day, keeping my space clean and clutter free (more on that in Lesson 3), or having a date myself with myself. Sometimes intentional joy shows up as chores, exercise, the apple instead of the cookie (or the cookie instead of the apple). Other times it is take-out for one and generous glass of wine, to celebrate a win at work or other personal accomplishment. For me intentional joy is doing something that I know will make me feel better -sometimes in the moment, other times in the long run. It is about taking time to get clear on how I want to feel in my life and taking steps to feel that way as often as possible.
What Does Your Best Day Look Like?
What does your best day look like? I don’t mean what kind of house you’d live in or the type of car you’d drive if you won the lottery. I mean what would your current real life look like if you were living your purpose and finding happiness and abundance each and every day? What would you be doing? How would each day fulfill you? What kind of intentional joy would show up from day to day? Because, ultimately, that’s your goal – to create a life you love more often than not. To find joy in the small spaces, as well as the big events.
I want you to make two lists. For the first list, write down what you want to be doing in your life, specifically, how you want to spend your time. For example, would you wake up and do yoga before work? Would you take time to cook a healthy dinner? Would you finally sign up for that pottery class you’ve been wanting to try or take the leap and go back to school? Write down how you would spend every hour of your waking day.
On the second list, write down how you are actually spending your time on an average day. Are the lists similar? Or are they completely different? Are there things on your first list that you could be doing now? Are there things on the second list that you can stop doing? Obviously somethings have to stay on your list, like your job and caring for your children. But is there wiggle room to let go of some things to make more time for intentional joy?
Lack of time doesn’t have to hold you back from creating some intentional joy in your life. I’m here to say to you, as a kindred spirit, No one is going to give your permission to take time for yourself. You have to TAKE it. Start making your self care a priority in your schedule. Carve out as much time as you need - no matter if that means half an hour or half a day. Give yourself time to do the things that will make you feel better and bring you joy. This may require letting go of things that don’t serve you (i.e. doom-scrolling before bed every night). You may need to ask for help (can your spouse make dinner and put the kids to bed, so you can have an hour of quiet, once a week?). If life is feeling stagnant, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone/regular routine and shake things up a bit.
Lesson 2 Homework: Find one hour (or more) this week, to do something that will bring you some Intentional Joy. This could be planning a special Ostara meal, creating some spring-themed DIY projects or decor, trying a new beauty routine, reading a new book or simply writing in your journal. Whatever you decide to do, it should be Joyful - not time consuming or complicated. Spend it with your family or friends, if that makes you happy. Or spend solo, if that makes you happy. Mark that time off on your calendar and commit to doing something just for yourself. This small practice is something you can start to do a on a regular basis, to loosen the reigns of a rigid schedule and invite more joy into your everyday.