Why Not . . . Create Your Own Simple Ritual?

Humans, for better or for worse, are creatures of habit.  Sometimes the routines a person becomes accustomed to are mundane and uneventful, yet necessary, like putting the trash out on the curb every Sunday night. But there are other routines – rituals, as I like to call them – that one can incorporate into their lives to add luxury to each day.  While certain luxuries are grand expenditures, there are so many other luxuries that cost nothing or next to nothing, yet bring a tremendous amount of joy.

Each week in The Simply Luxurious Life newsletter, I highlight a few readers and ask them to answer the question that will be expanded upon today – what every day luxuries do you enjoy?  Each one that I have received has been a delight to read and share. What I find is that each person’s luxuries are uniquely their own, revealing a glimpse at their personality and charm.

Often times, the hustle and bustle of daily errands, jobs, meetings and responsibilities impede upon one’s ability to take a few moments to breathe, slow down and enjoy, so today’s post will focus on sharing ideas on how you can bring a ritual (or two) into your life with the sole intention to fill yourself up – replenish your spirit and remind you that you are more than worth the time and energy to unwind, relax, and appreciate pleasurable things.

Beauty

Nothing reveals a woman’s opinion of herself like the way she cares for her appearance, and one aspect of this is her beauty regime.  Creating beauty rituals that you attend to just before turning in to bed or upon awaking in the morning are an easy way to bring a ritual into your life that has many benefits and makes you feel as though you are being pampered. Examples: use moisturizer over your entire body immediately after stepping out the bath/shower, remove all make-up before bed and apply a rich facial crème to hydrate your skin (eye cream too, if you’d like), a spritz of your favorite perfume, and of course a blissful night’s sleep to restore and invigorate not only your skin, but your body and mind.  Here are a few more beauty rituals you might want to consider.

Fitness

You do not have to be as bouncy as Jane Fonda to include the daily ritual of fitness into your life.  View fitness as an opportunity to improve your life, to restore more energy so that you can do the things you wish to do. One ritual that I enjoy every morning is taking a walk with my dogs.  Now some mornings, it is a very vigorous, long walk, but other times, it is just a stroll to allow the dogs to frolic and play. Either way, it is a ritual that I try to continue, and it makes me feel good. 

Bedtime

Above was mentioned a few beauty rituals that can be done just before bed, but what do you do that turns that switch in your mind conveying the message to start winding down, to get ready to be lulled to sleep?  Whether you go to bed early or late, reading a book in bed, watching your favorite comedy (even if it’s a rerun – for me Frasier), sipping a bit of tea, tucking your kids in and reading to them out of a lovely children’s book, sitting on the porch with a cup of decaf, any of these and so many more communicate to your body and more importantly the mind, that you are about to give it some rest.  Think about something that brings you pleasure that you could envision yourself doing nearly every night before you drift off into dreamland.  Something to think about.

Morning

If you are not a morning person, this one might be a bit more difficult to introduce into your life, but I’m going to venture to argue that you still can bring a bit of ritual to your morning routine.  Whether it’s stopping by your local coffee house and chatting with the barista behind the counter, reading the paper while you sip your morning cup of joe, perusing through your favorite blogs, looking at your daily calendar to remind yourself of the day ahead and making a note to find some time for yourself each day, whatever you choose to do, make sure it’s something that you look forward to and lifts your spirits just as you are about to embark on a brand new day with no mistakes in it.

Weekly

Some of the best rituals endure because you don’t get to enjoy them every day.  Now due to the fact that they aren’t every day, they can be a bit more decadent if you’d like.  I know a handful of couples who reserve Friday nights as their dinner out – and typically reservations at a fine dining establishment. What a beautiful way to end the week.  No matter how rambunctious it may have been, this provides a time to celebrate its culmination and reflect on successes that may have occurred.  How about a weekly trip to your favorite book store, a weekly gathering of good friends for brunch, coffee or a walk, or allow yourself the indulgence of purchasing a new bottle of wine that you’ve never had the opportunity to try and pair it with a decadent homemade meal? Find something that knowing in the back of your mind is going to take place every week provides a bit more motivation to push through your work and do your best.

Okay, now that I’ve shared, I am dying to hear from you.  Please do tell.  We can all gain inspiration and ideas from one another.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!  You’re halfway there

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