I hope I am getting this blog thing, right? At the heart of my blog/news posts is the sincere desire to share my knowledge, expertise, love and experience with you, for all the things I am passionate
about along with spa and product news of course. Right now, sadly spas/hotels are closed and all manufacturing, new product launches are on hold... My wish is that the topics I post will enhance your well-being, make you smile, provide food for thought and most of all inspire. Inspiration is coming at us all fast and enthusiastically right now as we all work our way through Covid19. There are always two sides to view any situation “positive & negative” its “How you look at it” that determines how you get through. The positives for me right now are many - The big one is the gift of extra time to do all the things that a “full on” business/career/work schedule didn’t leave much time to do (Downsides - We know them and face them every day in our own ways. We can only do the best we can. To help, support and listen to the advice we are given and act respectfully.) I miss doing the job I love, however I trust that my career will be back brighter and better than before. Life is normally full of commitments, distractions, drama, stress, complications and everything in-between. Covid19 will be pushing so many additional fear buttons it’s important to look for the positives to keep us balanced. With this enforced “time out” some have been given the opportunity to take life down a notch and that’s the positive in this negative situation. We can wake up and smell the coffee, we can actually enjoy savouring our coffee sitting in the garden, or looking out over our window box at the beautiful blue skies we have been blessed with throughout April.
Now for the Musing/Reflecting bit - The last time I remember having the luxury of this kind of time was back in 1999 when I was diagnosed with cancer, 5th May 1999 another terrifying chapter. For the first time in 20 years I allowed myself the gift of having 3 days off from my business per week. This was a first for me and opened up a whole new world... Instead of going to the garden centre buying and planting on a Sunday (my one day off a week) and not seeing (looking at) those plants till the following Sunday, I actually had time to spend in my garden which at the time was a very big garden space, seeing how those plants magically evolved over seven days, day by day! (More on gardening a fave pastime in another blog) I had the luxury of time to enjoy the art of cooking (another favourite mindfulness ritual) In the 80’s my day spa had a vegetarian bistro, I prepared the dishes for the week ahead on a Saturday afternoon. Now; whist I try and do everything with love and passion with a dash for Reiki added for good measure, the cooking for the spa was another to do list project. Enjoying cooking with this gift of self-time I had bestowed myself; I was able to
try out new dishes, mindfully enjoying the ritual. Reading a magazine from cover to cover in one lovely long session was pure bliss… I had to slow down for the good of my health, practice what I preached and I was loving it. Cancer aside then, as with Covid19 aside now… We are being forced to step back from our usual lives to experience something else.
For many Covid19 takes us back to looking at other challenging yet inspirational times in the past. I am loving all the beautiful programs on TV showcasing amazing bravery, courage and poignant moments from history. I am delivering shopping/medication to a group of beautiful self-isolating octogenarian’s, these amazing people lived through WW2, surviving the brutal sustained bombing of Liverpool during the blitz. Looking at their smiling, appreciative faces as they wave and make jokes through their windows, it’s hard to imagine that as young children in their formative years, they survived the war and those horrendous seven consecutive nights of bombing 1st – 8th May, with Liverpool and Merseyside being the most bombed area outside of London. (My amazing mother one of them) I am talking about this now not to be negative but to show how people survive. My mum says it was simply little things they could do that got them through. Everyone was in it together just like we are now.
Ok; one more trip down memory lane – Lets go back to the 80’s (Feel like I am in an episode of Ashes to Ashes – a brilliant series I have been able to watch and totally enjoy since Covid19, sorry I digress, but really watch it, totally fantastic) It was in the 80’s that I was first introduced to the simple yet very powerful ritual I am going to disucss in my blog tomorrow. Remember it’s the simple things that can get you through the most challenging times. During the 80’s my day spa won lots of awards, generously given by the various brands I featured in the spa – G. M. Collin, RVB, Depilex etc all big brands at that time. The prizes tied to retail sales targets, new product or ritual launches etc. These extremely generous rewards, were much appreciated by myself and my passionate team. We expected to win lots of great goodies every year. The kind of treats these generous companies gave to the higher salon/spa achievers would be amazing all expenses
paid trips to France/Italy/London. We would be presented with fantastic vibrant schedules – Fine dining restaurants, cultural trips, combined with lots of training on the latest products and spa/salon rituals. These trips totally inspired the grateful recipients who would return to work full of enthusiasm, wowing their clients with the latest anti-ageing or cellulite busting rituals.
It was also a fantastic chance to meet likeminded salon/spa owners/therapists/managers and share our mutual passion for all things holistic/wellness/beauty/spa. A fantastic opportunity for gifted lead team players to get away (have time out from their usual routines) and experience all the above. I loved going on these trips and mixing and mingling, however when awards are won its always a team effort. I loved the first day one of my team arrived back to the spa, having been inspired and empowered, meeting others in their chosen career, returning staff would be on fire, sell out of the products or rituals they had been introduced to. The 80’s (when I started my first business) was a decade of great change, turbulence and conflict. I think a lot of the way we live now is as a direct result of the tumultuous events of the 1980’s. During those amazing trips away, lifelong friendships where made with people from all walks of life, in lots of ways pushed out of our comfort zones we thrived. On one of those trips I shared a room with a great girl from Northern Ireland. She was very young to have started her own business (22) just like me. We both came from very turbulent places and we had a lot to talk about, my Liverpool Irish background, our struggles starting our businesses in a time when it was totally not expected for young women to start a business, we talked about the troubles both political and religious and our mutual love of all thing’s spa and holistic lifestyle... It was the people I met during the 80’s, who introduced me to some of the most inspirational holistic tools and gems of wisdom I still use today. During the 80’s the world faced many challenging times and came through. Bridget my lovely Irish roommate shared a simple ritualistic gift with me that I have practiced ever since. Look out for tomorrows blog when we will take ONE WORD!