I’ve always been a lover of candles. Neither my Mum or I are actually quite sure which one of us started the other off with our candle addiction – but it is a vice we enthusiastically share to this day.
For years and years I was a staunch user of Yankee Candles. No other brand would do. I invested in tealights & jar candles with gusto.
And then I met Anna Green.
Anna Green is one of my Area Leaders in 4Networking. At least she is now. When I first met Anna at a networking meeting in Grantham, she joined as Visitor Coordinator for that lunchtime group and got stuck in to that role pretty much straight away. Anna would introduce herself as The Candle Lady during our introduction round and always had lovely candles with her.
But I would not be turned.
I was a Yankee Candle girl.
Through and through.
But after a while, I decided to buy a box of tealights from Anna to give them a go. And my journey to the Light Side began.
I have a busy life. I run four businesses, a networking region, a household and a husband. I am BUSY. I like being BUSY. But I am BUSY ALL THE TIME.
One of the things I realised I needed to do after having cancer, was slow down a bit. I needed to make sure I was giving myself time to decompress and reduce my stress levels. And at the beginning of all that happy clappy stuff, I had absolutely no idea where to start. Apart from having long hot baths – which was already a firm favourite.
But how was I going to make sure I didn’t burn out again (no pun intended. Well, maybe a little pun. A pun-ette if you like)?.
I make sure that I spend at least 45 minutes at the end of my day well away from any gadgets of any sort – I read a book (usually a cookery book – my kitchen bookcase is the stuff of legend) – that is the beginning of how I decompress at the end of the day. I do this all year round. Take the foot off the pedal for a bit.
In the autumn and winter, the other way I do this is by indulging in my daily Lighting Up Ritual.
I’ve mentioned my candle addiction.
What I’ve not really come clean about is how far it now extends. And how much of that is Anna Greens fault.
You see after that initial box of tealights, I upgraded my purchase to a 3 wick jar candle. The difference was amazing. No sooty mess, no spitting wicks, no tunnel burning and a huge waste of wax at the end. Just a clean burning candle that smelt amazing and lasted for ages.
Reader, I was hooked.
So I turned from the side of the force to the PartyLite side. I began regularly buying candles from Anna to feed my habit.
I moved up from just one 3 wick jar candle, to pairing them up to find my signature fragrance (the first combination I tried was Red Apple Orchard & Cinnamon Woods – apple pie in a candle!), to purchasing my first piece of home décor.
And after a while, I had the conversation with Anna about finding a way to fund all of this without having to sell a major organ. Or my husband.
She swiftly moved me into becoming a PartyLite consultant so I could enjoy the benefits of my own addiction and, indeed, share it with others. My Mum is now my best regular customer.
All of this meant I have access to gorgeous fragrance and home décor all the time. Knowing when to stop buying it and start selling it to other people is sometimes a bit of a challenge.
Which leads me back to my Lighting Up Ritual.
Having routines in your day is really important. They give you structure, familiarity and reassurance when the rest of your day is behaving like a toddler having a tantrum. They give you spaces of calm and order in a cluttered world. They are a means of giving you back some control, allowing you to reflect on the day and unwind, or allowing you to pause, take stock and then carry on. Knowing how to slow down and evaluate your day is a really key element of keeping on track and on target.
You don't necessarily need 38 tealights to do this. But I find it helps.