outer gems: spring clean yourself
a sensory how-to guide. interpret as desired.
how to spring clean yourself
Watch a TikTok about how the astrological sign in your 6th house determines the way your ideal routines should actually be structured. Fall into a rabbit hole about what it means when it’s Aries. Feel seen by the results. Vow to turn over a new leaf, e.g. do physical activity in the morning to boost productivity; pencil in regular breaks to prevent burnout; incorporate variety so you don’t get bored. (It works.)
Get a haircut that gives you a personality again.
Vaguely dream up plans for a spring equinox night in with the girlies, then scrap the plan entirely and go out for Guinness at The Canary instead. Indulge in the power of the pub (talk to strangers, eat a burger and fries, get serendipitous writing advice from an Irish professor that’s unexpectedly aligned). Feel old selves shedding away with every foamy sip of stout.
Buy a new shower scrub just to feel something. Slough off dead skin as a metaphor for releasing stagnant energy. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Do the biggest load of laundry you’ve done in recent history. Sit for a few extra seconds at the laundromat and watch all the different colors of socks and underwear swirl around in the dryer.
Attend a Joyflow event and eat a box of popcorn labeled “somatic snacks” while you learn about somatic snacks — little things you can incorporate into your day to get out of your head and ground down into your body. Like breathwork, or shaking your limbs, or allowing yourself to move around the space with an intuitive curiosity. Let that energy set the tone for future endeavors.
Listen to the same song 10 times in a row. Maybe more if you’re up for it. Feel it coursing through your veins, filling up your brain waves in the background. Assign your own meaning to it. Treat it like a seasonal anthem.
Become the type of person that starts meal prepping chia seed pudding. The kind with coconut yogurt and fresh raspberries, if you wanna get specific.
Start using the fire escape again. Watch a sunset out there, repot a plant with gloved hands, sunbathe with your laptop and an iced matcha on a yoga mat until your necklace prickles with heat on your chest (WFH mission accomplished).
Go to Vato in pursuit of a breakfast burrito, then keep walking because of how long the line is. Loop back around and decide to stand in line anyway, because the sun is out and people are smiling and what do you have to prove to all these people walking around in Park Slope? That you’re better than queueing up like the other NPCs? Realize that it goes by pretty fast, actually. Eat a bean and cheese burrito and get a cinnamon roll for the road.
FaceTime your mom while she’s on a walk around the neighborhood you grew up in. Gaze at the tiny pixelated rendering of azaleas blooming in a dozen different shades of hot pink.
Remember to buy dark chocolate at the grocery store.
Have a Bulgarian bestie who sends you a martenitsa bracelet, made of braided red and white string, like she does every year. Wear it around all month long. Tie it to the first blooming tree you come across in the wild and feel, finally, like a long- lost part of you has just arrived.
Repeat number 11 as often as possible 🥹🌺🩷