From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep, we are increasingly becoming mentally and physically engaged to the outside world.
We are in the midst of the social-media age and sometimes it really is hard to just switch off from it all, take a step back and really focus on our mental and physical wellbeing. Very clearly, this isn’t good.
Now I could go the obvious route on saying just switch off your damn phone for an hour before bed and don’t look at it first thing in the morning but for some of us, that really isn’t an option. By all means, I recommend it if you can do it but when your job directly involves using your phone on an hourly basis, it’s not such an easy feat.
Recently though, I was invited to attend an interesting talk on Witch-Influencers and New Wellness Trends by the lovely team at The GLAMOUR Beauty Festival 2019. Now I’m not usually someone who gets caught up in the allure of spells and charms to sort out all of life’s worries and problems but a lot of what was said really struck a chord with me, on the concept of self-preservation.
The entire talk, that was hosted by Angela Scanlon and featured Emma Lucy Knowles and Giselle La Pompe-Moore as guests, was entirely focused on the notion of self-empowerment and giving yourself a positive mindset for achieving your goals and in doing so, taking time for yourself to reflect and recenter your thoughts and emotions daily.
Now, this is something I can definitely get on-board with!
The guest speakers went on to outline their own practices of using various charms and objects such as crystals, that they use on a daily basis to centre their thoughts and achieve their goals. For me personally, the totem aspect of their rituals is something that I find relatable. No, I don’t have crystals over my writing desk at home but I do have keepsakes. These are objects that hold meaning for myself and I associate them with certain memories or emotions. Albeit you could argue there is a difference, I personally don’t think there is.
I’ll give you an example. When my uncle Dennis passed away, he left me a number of watches. One of them is a solid gold Swiss watch that honestly, I’m petrified of losing every time I wear it. Now long story short, my uncle is someone that was very inspirational to me. He travelled the world, went on great adventures and stressed the importance of education to me, in understanding the world and its myriad of cultures. This inspiration has made me an avid traveller and was one of the primary factors in me pursuing my degree and subsequent career, as a writer.
So this watch now symbolises to me my uncle and all that he stood for. This association has made this watch a totem for me of self-preservation and self-belief. As now when I wear it, I genuinely feel that I can achieve anything and he is stood right there with me. It’s even in front of me now, as I’m writing this feature.
So to me, my watch sounds very similar to a crystal with empowering properties. Wouldn’t you agree?
I think we all have these keepsake items in our lives, no matter what they may be and these are our symbols of support, love, empowerment and everything in between. They are our crystals, spell jars and tarot cards and like our Witch-Influencer friends Emma and Giselle, I think it’s important we take time to appreciate these objects.
Let them refocus us and remind us of who we are and what we want in life. This appreciation is how we can switch off from the social-media age, how we can survive it and most importantly, how we can thrive in it!
Finally, I just wanted to say thank you again to The GLAMOUR Beauty Festival 2019 in association with Boots at the Saatchi Gallery in London, for inviting me along to this talk and helping me find my own way of switching off.
If you’re interested in attending the festival. Look out for news on their next event in Manchester later this year, on their social media.
