A Day Lived in Surrender & Simplicity

Some Streams About Mondays on a Peaceful Morning

It is Tuesday today. My free day. I gave myself permission to sleep until 9 am. Then, against all my rules I created in my morning routine, I spent 1h on the phone scrolling.
Because it is my free day and I should not be too strict with myself. Because it is my free day and I should relax. I should enjoy myself. At least, this is what I tell myself.

Reflecting on my past weeks, I can’t help but notice a recurrent pattern emerging during the week:

Mondays are my most peaceful days.

Even though there is a strong belief that Monday is supposed to be the most stressful day, in my experience it is not. Yes, it’s the day when I have to be the most focused, juggling the most tasks. It’s the day when 100 messages lie unanswered and tasks need to be prioritized by urgency & importance. It’s the day when I could potentially feel the most overwhelmed & stressed.

But yet, it’s the day when I am the least hard on myself.

It’s the day when I am the most conscious about my mental state.
It’s the day when I prepare myself the most for.

Diving into the new week with the right mindset goes a long way

1. Intentional Sunday Evening

How I start the week defines my week.
How I start the day defines my day.

Which is why preparation and setting intentions are key. I actually start my week more or less on Sunday evening, where I aim to spend the last hours before sleep as peacefully & consciously as possible:

• Reflecting on my current week
• Writing down goals & intentions for the next (What do I want to achieve? What energies would assist me? Do I need more yin or yang?)
• No alcohol, excessive screen time, activities that make me irritated
• Ideally: cleaning room, preparing what to wear the next day, visualising the morning routine
• Light stretching, taking a shower, some meditation/breathwork/prayer, hydrating before sleeping
• Carving out at least 6-8h sleep

2. Happy Monday

Did I already mention that I love Monday mornings?

Because no matter what will happen during the day, I get up at least 1h earlier, and set the tone:

No matter what happens today, how can I make sure can be the most happy as the circumstances allow?

1. Make sure I work in an environment that supports deep work & relaxation. Depending on my mood, it can be the coach, the balcony, the coworking space which has a huge outside area, or a café, or a mix of all.
2. Integrate little breaks at least every 1-2h. Light stretching, going to the toilet, 5 mins walk.
3. Have a delicious lunch break to look forward to (important: no phone!)
4. Ideally: have fun people around to chat with
5. Plans (or no plans) for the evening

Work hard, play hard. Always focus on the little things that brighten the day.

Looking at those points, it becomes clear to me how intention and boundaries define the quality of the experienced day.
Life continues. Experiences and people enter and leave our awareness. It doesn’t matter what the content is. If there is a lot going on, if there is not so much going on. If we feel tensed, agitated or happy and content.

What matters is how we consciously ease into the flow of the incoming waves. Can we be an empty conduit of life’s energy, standing still & holding on to nothing and let the day wash through us? Or do we resist, close ourselves off and fight against the ‘obstacles’, because we are afraid to be smashed against a wall?

Either way, waves will always come and we can either fight & drown, or surrender and let them carry us to shore.

I want to end this post with the 5 rules of Reiki.

The 5 rules of Reiki

1. Just for today, do not worry
2. Just for today, do not anger
3. Just for today, be humble
4. Just for today, be honest
5. Just for today, be compassionate toward yourself and others