Introduction

As you cultivate your care for Mother Earth and advocate for our shared home,
what have you done lately to make sure you also take care of yourself?

To be involved in this work and the environmental movement--as well as the movement for ecological healing--we know you want to be in it for the long run. That’s why it is important to incorporate practices that personally bring you support, comfort, a clear mind, and appreciation for the simple things our beautiful planet has given us--as well as foster joy in our lives! And why not incorporate planetary care into your self-care?

For the next few days, you’ll explore options for a routine that can be done in the morning or evening that helps you feel grounded. Then you’ll reflect and adjust.

Step 1: Pick your rituals

Here’s an assortment of definitions for the word “grounded” from various dictionaries.  Do they resonate with your definition of being grounded? 

1. Well-balanced; mentally and emotionally stable; admirably sensible and

2. Unpretentious; understand the importance of ordinary things in life. 

Let's start by considering what it means for YOU to feel grounded. Pick a few rituals that you’d like to do in the morning or evening that would help you feel this way.

NOTE: The twist in this activity is that you are going to incorporate planetary care into your self-care.

If you have no idea how this might work, stay tuned for a list of examples below. It might be more intuitive than you think! But again, this is about YOU, so do what feels right. 

Step 2:  Test out your routine

Before you get set into your rituals, take a day to try out what you’ve picked. 

Ask yourself: Do you feel grounded by each? Did some take longer or shorter than you thought? Want to swap some out/in? Aim for 30-60 minutes total for your “final” routine--choose a time that feels effective but also sustainable and realistic for you.

Step 3: Create a Visual Guide

To do this you can use:

To help you remember your rituals and flow through the routine smoothly, create a visual guide to follow. Illustrate a daily practice for yourself that takes into consideration self-care, grounding, planetary care and things that bring you joy. Use this as a daily reminder. 

Option 1: Below is one example of a poster you could use to depict your rituals! With this poster, you could hang your illustration on your wall to remind you of your daily routine. This is simply an example, so tailor it to your own rituals.

Or

Option 2: Make a morning and evening schedule. But not the boring kind that gets lost in a pile of papers: get creative and make it pretty, fun and most importantly, in a way that will motivate you each day. 

Helpful tip: these are meant to help you want to do the rituals, so add icons, pictures, drawings, colors or anything else that will help you.

Step 4: Commit to the 3 Day Challenge.

Now you’re ready to dive in. Start with baby steps at first. Commit yourself to a 3 day challenge! Do the routine for 3 days. 

Enjoy yourself! Try not to think too much but just notice and observe yourself as you move through your routine. 

In the next step, you’ll build on your 3 days, plus give yourself time to reflect.

After your 3 days, try to continue with your rituals each day. 

In addition to your visual guide, you can use a calendar (you can even simply use the one on your phone) to track how often you do your rituals. 

Start by tracking yourself for the first 2 weeks, then look at your calendar and count how many times you have done the rituals in this time period.  

During this time you can:

Reflect on what works and what does not. 

1. How did the intersection between your own self-care and planetary care work?

2. Did anything surprise you?

3. How often are you doing your rituals?  

4. Are you expecting too much time for your rituals or is it not enough? 

5. Are some working better than others?

6. Do you lack motivation to do the rituals?

Set goals for yourself and make adjustments. 

1. You can tailor the rituals to your daily schedule and set aside a time period that fits into your schedule without becoming a burden or chore. There is no “right” amount of time to spend on the rituals, so see what works for you. 

2. It’s ok to like some better than others or to change your mind, so make adjustments on the way.  

3. If you are lacking motivation, try to do the rituals at another time of the day or space them out, starting with doing them once a week (such as on the weekend) and increasing the frequency once you get the hang of it.

4. The most important: Have Fun!! Adjust your rituals in a way that you are enjoying them. Once you have figured that out, they will be very easy to integrate into your day and you will most definitely get something positive out of them! 

5. Edit the poster or schedule you created to reflect what feels like it works the best!

Examples from our Teen Production Council:

One more thing before you go!

We truly hope you learned something about yourself and the environment while doing this activity. 

If you have already done this exercise in some way before, try doing it again every year. Think of it as a layering exercise where you can grow upon your past experiences, creating even stronger awareness and healthier habits!  

We hope you had a bit of fun and be sure to check out the other activities as well! 

Share your work or your experience of this activity here!