Media Free Mornings
Quiet mornings allow me the space to notice all of the beauty this wonderful world has to offer.
For me, starting my day in as much silence as possible is always nourishing to my soul. However, my home is no monastary or ashram. My kids are noisy, our dog takes his watchdog duty seriously and my husband does what he does. I have to be very intentional in order to carve out the solitude I crave.
Beyond my family, I create my own distractions: often in the form of news, social media, email and the like. And when I am very honest with myself, the best days are always those days that I avoid the seductive pull of these distractions for the first few hours I am awake.
That leads me to a little boundary that I have been struggling for years now to set with myself: Media Free Mornings. In my habit tracker (more habit tracker details here and here) this is also known as MFM. Some of my habits have improved since the start of the pandemic and yet, after about a week of Media Free Mornings, I slip into looking outward, instead of inward, first thing in the morning.
Back in January and February 2020 I fell into a bad habit of checking the internet first thing in the morning for news on the cornavirus. I still want to know the data: Where do COVID cases stand? Is it getting better, or worse? What percentage of the population is vaccinated? What are the cases per 100,000? It's good to know and not necessary to check these things first thing in the morning or more than once a day. When all the data is going the wrong way and has me feeling down, I head over to Instagram where I have a carefully curated feed of beauty. Instagram is lovely and that too, can lead down a path of empty, mindless scrolling. It's a vicious cycle. And I have enough self awareness to realize that.
So, with a month of summer left and lots of tasks on my plate, I am recharging my efforts to step away from distractions more than ever. It's just too much. I am resetting the boundaries for myself: when I check and what I check. It's time for me to be very conscious of what I consume and all of my interactions. Right now, I only have the energy for that which is uplifting and kind. I am not moving to an off grid cabin in the woods, although sometimes I fantasize about living like Thoreau at Walden. For now, I am just limiting that which I allow into my modern, full, family life.
This is not a prescription for you to do the same. You do you. I am sharing, in case you too feel that something isn't quite right and need permission to disconnect for a bit. Day by day, week by week, month by month we get to choose what works best for each of our lovely lives.
And my friends, if we have made it thus far, let's give ourselves a great big hug of compassion. We are right where we need to be.
All my best,
Carolyn
P.S. Looking ahead to fall....I am opening up my calendar to more virtual clients and am toying with the idea of offering another paper organizing retreat, this time virtually. Please reach out if you are interested.
