Day 119 - A Year to Clear - Check In WEEK 17 - Releasing With Water

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Lesson 119: Check In WEEK 17 - Releasing With Water

This week was definitely an interesting week. I didn’t think much of my hands until the exercises of this week. Just being mindful made me admire my hands more and then appreciate my body more. Just the simple actions of taking time to wash my hands, made me more mindful and present in the moment. I tend to imagine negativity washing over and me going down the drain to wash away – I really appreciate that visualisation.

I think if people can practise and revert to letting go with practise of water washing it away, it can do much good. Taking time to wash your hands really made me honour them and it’s a small step towards more awareness to yourself and how you can relax and breathe through it. Was an interesting exercise and I do really like what people can achieve with it.

Day 117 - A Year to Clear - Honour Your Hands

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Lesson 117: Honor Your Hands

Today is about honouring a part of our bodies… that being our hands. Take time washing your hands and taking notice. Use a nice smelling soap and then dry your hands, being slow in the process. Do you feel that you’ve under rated your hands? Do you notice them with more admiration or beauty? How was your breathing during the process?

I thought today’s lesson a bit odd. I didn’t really think washing hands would do me much good. When I actually inputted mindfulness, it changed the way I viewed my hands. They look dainty like a lady but rough at the same time as they start to age. I thought my hand were beautiful and they have a story to tell. I thought that maybe I should take more care on them. They deserve attention. The soap I was using was rose scented and I always love that smell. It’s just a calming and soothing scent. My hands felt cared for as I became more aware to notice my hands. I hand towelled them dry and ensured that no water was left on my hands. I took the time to actually make them dry and not put in a half ass effort. What I did notice was that my breathing was relaxed. This definitely taught me that with the more time and effort I put into things, the more relaxed I feel.

As I sat here typing this, I decided to put on some hand cream. Not only did it feel smooth, it was good to give some extra attention into massaging my hands. I can’t even describe how good that felt.

I’m amazed at the simple act of caring for my hands can go a long way. There’s no reason why this can’t be applied to all aspects of life.

Day 114 - A Year to Clear - Scents and Sensibility

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Lesson 114: Scents and Sensibility

Today we are to think about all the steps in washing our hands. It definitely sounds random but I think it’s about bringing about awareness and some mindfulness. What do you notice of the water? How many times do you wash your hands a day? Do you use a paper towel to use or a hand dryer? Whatever the steps, the final piece to it is to think if you go away thinking you feel “loved-up and well-tended”.

I like to use warm water to wash my hands. For some reason, I think that’s cleaner. I watched or read an article about the longer you wash your hands, the more of the bacteria goes away. So, if you wash your hands for 30 seconds it’s cleaner than 5 seconds. Since this article, I always count to 10 so I think my hands is rid of more germs. I’m not OCD but this is just something I do now. I lather with a lot of soap also. I prefer to use a hand dryer as it’s not wasting paper towel. I like when the soap has a nice scent to it because in my mind it seems like I’m more fresh. I tend to wash my hands when I’ve touched something that has dirtied my hands or after the bathroom. For some reason though, I don’t wash my hands before I eat, which you’d probably think I would, but I just don’t. I’m not sure how many times a day I wash my hands – I’m thinking maybe 4-5 times a day, but I have never really noticed to be honest.

I’m not sure if I go away thinking I’m “loved-up and well-tended”. I think I feel washing my hands does make me feel cleaner. So, in that regard, maybe I’m well-tended but I don’t feel loved-up. I guess I will think on this more as the week progresses.