To continue my Self-Care Series I have been focusing on my environmental wellness. I was unsure which direction I wanted to go with this aspect of my wellness until I listened to an episode of the Free Your Energy podcast that discussed how decluttering your space can easily give you feelings of peace and balance.
In this podcast, our host Slyvester McNutt encourages listeners to start decluttering their life by organizing their phones. We spend so much time throughout the day staring at our phone screens – whether it is sending emails, communicating through text or calling, googling new things, or even browsing social media. He encouraged his listeners to get rid of unnecessary apps, voicemails, unread messages, etc. He even articulated how he turned off all “banner” notifications so nothing would pop up to distract him and pull him away from his original task.
So to focus on my environmental wellness in this series I am going to be doing some decluttering over the next few days.
Starting with my phone. I’m going to organize it and delete anything on there that’s unnecessary or distracting me. Then I’m going to declutter my home. My pantry and fridge could use a good clean out.
Not to mention, I can’t emphasis enough how overdo my closet is for a Marie Kondo purge. I have stuff in there that I haven’t worn for a couple of years, but for some reason I can’t seem to easily get rid of my clothes. What if I eventually need it!?! But this weekend, I’m determined to take a big haul to a thrift store and maybe even make a couple bucks off stuff that someone else could get some use out of.
Another way that I routinely nurture my environmental wellness is by burning sage incense throughout my home. I know this remedy is very controversial in the western world because of its origin in the Native American culture. Although I’ve never burned sage (or done anything really) with any negative intent, I still understand that my naive whiteness can come across as cultural appropriation and that’s the last thing I want.
For me personally, burning sage is a ritual I like to do when I’m feeling enveloped in negative energy. The sage feels very cleansing and healing as it burns.
Months ago, when I moved to Nashville, I felt like I needed to clear the energy in my new space, and I expressed this to my best friend. She conveniently had some sage her sister had brought back from Arizona. She gifted the sage to me and I’ve been periodically burning it since. It’s getting very low, but after doing some research about sage and how commercialized it has become, I’m hesitant to get more from just anywhere.
To continue the focus on my environmental wellness and be a better ally to POC and minorities, I’ve been doing research on the history of sage, the benefits of it, how it has been adopted into our modern world, and some thoughts from a Native American. Here are some interesting sources I found:
The Ethic of Burning Sage, Explained
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable week and prioritizing self care in a way that works well for you and your lifestyle. Self care looks different to all of us, so it’s important to listen to your own body.
In my timezone, we have officially sprung our clocks forward, making the daylight stretch a little longer into the evenings. It’s been a glorious breath of fresh air to know spring is right around the corner. I’m always looking forward to warmer days.
Enjoying my Self-Care Series? Check out some previous posts:
Stay tuned for next week!
Living With Intentions 
Kel, every thing that you write about is right on cue. I need to clean out my closet and other things in my life. I plan on working on that this week end. Thanks Beau
LikeLiked by 1 person