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I have been drinking lots of herbal tea
this winter. It’s a warm, sweet way to stay hydrated in a season that automatically gives me dry hands and chapped lips. Best of all, though, each of my tea bags has an inspirational saying on its tiny tag, so I not only get a hot cup of tea, I get a quote to meditate on while drinking it. I really enjoy the idea of having a message to turn over in my mind throughout the day, like a pebble I can turn in my hand, something to work my mental muscles in a gentle and almost subconscious way.
Not everyone drinks tea, though, and if I’m being honest, lots of my tea bags are repeats(!), but luckily, there are many other ways to get a daily dose of inspiration. This website’s Positive Life Quotes offers powerful positive messages, enough to read one or two a day for the week. If you are a visual person, there are websites that post a beautiful image each day to hold in your mind. A more physical person may choose to hold one yoga pose each morning or evening, a brief way to calm and clear the mind and body.
Finding A Dose of Inspiration In Everyday Life
One of my favorite things to do in December is open the doors of an advent calendar every day, and this is very similar – a small surprise that adds a little something special to the day. Last year, my sister and I wrote fun, seasonal things to do, folded them up and left them for one another to choose each day. Anyone could do a variation of this, with a friend or loved one or even by themselves.
Try writing down beautiful quotes and ideas when you hear them, or clipping striking photos from magazines, and folding them up and dropping them in jar. After a few weeks, begin choosing one a day to read, and they will seem like new.
With a loved one, you could write down qualities you love in one another and choose one a day to read. Read one line at a time from a poem that takes your breath away, allowing yourself an entire day to absorb the words and think about them in new and different ways.
Our days are filled with unexpected scenarios and ranges of emotions, but having something as simple as a line or image to hold can really serve to anchor us. You can also use this idea, with a twist, and create a line or image yourself every day. Take a beautiful photograph each day for a week, for example, or try and put a moment of intense emotion or happy memory from the day into the best words you can.
My tiny tag this morning read “You are unlimited.” There were many times throughout the day when I felt very limited – limited in patience, in time, in resources…did I mention patience? (I have two toddlers, after all). With that positive reinforcement floating in my the back of my mind, though, I was reminded to take a deep breath and dig deeper, pushing past what I think of as my limits and finding strength and humor instead of giving up and giving in to anger and frustration. Sometimes, all you need is a little dose of inspiration, or at least, a hot cup of tea.
[Photo Credit: EladeManu]
Rachel contribute to the site because, with all the negativity and fear being broadcast these days, everyone could use a reminder of the wonder and joy that is always around us, if we only take the time and make the effort to see it.