I am good at giving others clever tips – and forgetting myself. The Christmas holidays were urgently needed to recharge my batteries, but already in the first week of January I felt as drained as before the holidays.
It is difficult for me to find the right balance between work, family and relaxation in everyday life. I have the feeling that I am constantly “on”. Even at night, when I should finally be sleeping but can’t because my head keeps working. I dream of Photoshop, ETFs and the 50 Euro note I lost in the supermarket the other day because I was so washy after five espressos. My child and my husband suffer from my stress. That is unfair. Flori has therefore prescribed two things for me this weekend:
1. „Eat the frog“
I’ve wanted to do it for a long time and I’ve put it off again and again: My home office urgently needed to be tidied up, because within the last few months I had turned it into a cluttered cave – it had long since become impossible to think clearly because of the chaos. But that’s exactly what I need: order and structure to concentrate. So “Eat the frog!”- the thing that annoys/pisses off/stresses you the most has to be done first.
2. Let Off Steam
I used to run or swim regularly, at least twice a week. I must have forgotten how important it is to let off steam, i.e. to convert the pressure into energy. When I went jogging on Sunday mornings, at first I dragged my body around the lake like a bag of bolts. Every step was hard for me. The winter sun was shining pink and orange in the sky and apart from one elderly gentleman who did his rounds here every day with a walking stick, there was nobody else around except me and my frustration.
After about ten minutes I felt my lungs filling with oxygen and my chest widening more and more. After stumbling up and down the shore once, I felt better not only physically. More than that, this haze that was sticking to my mind like smog over the city had become lighter. Suddenly my steps became bigger, I ran up and down the meadows. Suddenly there it was: my strength. I felt like a puma in the mountains.
For the Incas the puma is a sign of strength, wisdom and intelligence. In the indigenous communities, women weave the symbol of the cat of prey into their clothing to keep the legend of the divine animal alive. The Incas believe that the puma teaches us to walk the path of peace – and here I am: on the path of peace with myself.
The „Puma pacha“-Pullover made of baby alpaca woll comes from the Slow Fashion label Achiy from Hamburg. The piece is not only a homage to my new Spirit Animal, which represents our earth as a deity in the Inca faith, but also to the traditional Peruvian knitting art with which the local families earn their living.
The spirituality with which indigenous peoples make their clothes gives Achiy’s products a special aura, which contrasts with the soulless pieces from the fast fashion industry. After all, alpaca wool (“fleece of the gods”) is considered the most sustainable fibre in the world. In contrast to cashmere and merino wool, alpaca wool is not only warmer, but more robust and less susceptible to pilling. There are Peruvian textiles that are over 2,000 years old and still in good shape. I also did not know, for example, that alpaca wool is available in over 20 natural colours, which is why there are no chemicals used in the dyeing of the wool.
Social and cultural responsibility, comfort and warmth not only for my family but also for myself: These are all topics that are important to me in 2020. That’s why I’m happy to offer you a voucher code at this point: with “alexa x achiy” you get 20% off the entire collection in the online shop. I wear size M.
[In cooperation mit Achiy]
Orginal article on: http://alexapeng.de/warum-der-puma-mein-spirit-animal-fuer-2020-ist/
