Hola amigos del Interneeet!!
How are you guys? How’s the attitude this beautiful Monday?
How Monday looks like for you?

For me, I’m loving it!
I finally discovered that I’m not aging badly and quickly during the last week but I have spring allergies. That’s why my eyes look like 89 years old, and are swollen and watery, plus the unbelievable runny nose…I mean, the clues were clear but, you know, one can be stubborn and believe one day one woke up just old.

That said, I’m taking allergy medication, I’ll just wait to see it kick.
So, I learnt this is also what it means to actually have seasons. In my hometown we just have extremely hot and extremely cold. Nothing in between. And since I came to live here I’ve been in loved with the season changes, this year I’m discovering this swollen ayes also means Spring it’s here.

But if you have some tips for the allergy swollen eye, please please, leave it in the comments. It is very much appreciate it.

Anyways.
Today I want to talk to you about something I’ve seen in the Internet lately.
You now my love-hate relationship with social media, well it’s not much love per se. I love the internet, because you can learn a lot of stuff but social media, I feel it’s like…ugh, I don’t even have the words. I know, I use it, because it’s how the world rolls nowadays and well, business works thought it too. But I don’t use it for fun definitely.

I have my own “Non scrolling policy” because I’ve learnt to value my time and most of all my mental health. I’ve seen a trend about morning routines, I usually don’t get into that content, because once I saw 2 of those videos I connected the dots and understood most of them where about the same things.

I don’t relate to those routines. First of all, because I don’t wake up at 5 am. No way.
And there’s this bunch of people, waking at 5, drinking green beverages, journaling by hand, doing an pretty intense exercise routine, dressing in monochromatic outfits, having tea or cold coffee and using the same transparent straw (what’s with the transparent straws?) and watching the sunlights getting in through the window and touching their monstera plants.

Ok, no 5am, not heavy workouts, no tea, no straws, no monochromatic anything for me, geez! not even sunlight in my tiny town.
And I don’t care, each of us have our things, but I know people who is concern because they think that’s the right way to start your day and it is very difficult for them to achieve those kind of mornings.

And there’s where my problem with social media starts.

People starts to compare themselves with lifestyles that are just created to have views and likes.
When, I believe you should have the routine or life that works for you.

I don’t wake up at 5. Because I don’t have to and I don’t like to.
I remember years ago when I did wake up very early because I needed to check-in in my office job. No time for me to do the milk-tea-sunshine -transparent straw thing. I needed beep of my badge to be registered early.

Now, that I don’t have an office job I can wake up later. “Too late” for some. perfect for me, for my lifestyle. I do have my extra hot, extra black coffee in the morning, at noon and sometimes at night. My exercise routine is basically go for long walks with Ophelia, and sometimes I listen to an audiobook and sometimes I just go in silence, it’s a routine that I share with Ophelia and it’s sacred to us. Other times I walk with friends and that’s another sacred moment.

Journaling? Not precisely.
When I’m able to remember I do my Julia Cameron morning pages, check what this is about in the Weekly Discoveries), because they became a part of me in a turbulent time of my life. My first thing in the morning is not journaling, it’s taking my endometriosis medication, and there’s nothing fancy or aesthetic about it, but it’s the way I love and take care of my body.

No straws for me.
When I need to use them I have those metal ones. Maybe I’m just ignorant about the obsession of drinking everything with a straw or why those transparent ones are the hype, are they glass? Plastic? I don’t know, it’s weird to see those drawers full of straws, dozens of ice trays and to believe that is somehow the goal…mmhhh…

The monochromatic outfits, well, if that’s something you genuinely love and that brings joy to your heart and soul, let’s be it! If you are more like a Rainbow Brite elderly millennial like me and you are forcing yourself into the gray-beige trend, well…you might want to rethink about it and maybe embracing your taste and do whatever you want. If one day it’s rainbow and the next day it’s all black, let’s be it ! What I’m trying to say it’s do what you feel like (obviously not harming anyone or anyone’s rights), honor yourself. You don’t need to look like someone else or in an specific way.

And I obviously haven’t master this yet.
But I’m listening to my heart more and more and as much as I can.

So my mornings my look different than yours, and yours different to others, and I think that’s completely normal and cool. We all are different, how can we all have the same green juice-monstera-straw morning?
I wake up, definitely not early, get my hot black coffee, sometimes is the morning pages, sometimes the Ophelia walk, super late breakfast (some of you my call it lunch lol), I meditate, and that gives space to creativity to start flourishing in order to get to work, And at some point I check some of my messages and take a few minutes to answer, I don’t like to be on my phone texting all the time, my eyes hurt and mu brain gets overwhelmed. So I check my messages in blocks…and even in that way I feel they never finish.

Once I start working it’s very difficult for me to stop, because I get super passioned about it. So from this Monday I’m gonna give the Pomodoro Technique a chance. And I’ll let you know how it works.

My point of this Monday Blog is to tell you that just in case you feel like your mornings should look as aesthetic, sunlight bathed or monochromatic as the Instagram-YouTube-Facebook tells you, it’s probably not that accurate.
Because you are you. And you are unique. And your mornings should fit you and your lifestyle.
Not a prop-instagramer kinda life. But your amazing kind of life.

I hope you have a perfect week. A week just for you, for your necessities and taste.
A week specifically designed for you. And I wish you enjoy yourself and your life so much, that you don’t have time to compare yourself with no one else.

Love & Sparkles,
Ishani

To read: Well, as I told you in the blog, in a very difficult time of my life I helped myself with everything I could. My spiritual Teacher, my family, hubby, meditation, walks in nature, breathing exercises, everything! And I found this book and I felt it was a perfect companion for this moment in my journey. Don’t get fooled by the title. it appears it is just for professional artists, but I do believe it’s for anyone in their way to discover themselves. In this book one of the exercises it’s called The Morning Pages, and it’s about writing, first thing in the morning 3 pages. It doesn’t matter if it’s non-sense or deep thoughts. You’ll get to be more aware of yourself with this exercise.

To try: Yes, I’ll try the Pomodoro Technique.
Because a)I’ve been recommended with this method millions of times, b) because I love how tomatoes look and c) because it is now that I feel i want to try it. Oh and d) because once I downloaded an app and a few days ago I realized it has a place for the Pomodoro Technique and it caught my attentions, so those are clues for me.

To watch: I’ve recommended this channel before, but this time I watch this documentary about storks. I know I sound like the most boring person on hearth, but I don’t care, I’m embracing my boringness, enjoying it and loving it. This documentary is filmed in a real super tiny village called Rühstädt, in Germany, and at some point it has more storks than people living there…sounds like a place I’d move on.

To learn: You guys, I started an art podcast with my friend Valeria. It is in Spanish, so if you don’t understand the language, remember YouTube has subtitles in many many languages. So if you are interested in learning art history and listening to two latin women artists opinion, please visit the channel and you know, subscribe, comment, like and those little annoying but helpful things lol.