THIS cornbread candle.  

It was mid march of 2020 - the second week of quarantine - just as boredom was beginning to settle in.  The house was cleaner than it had been in years, thanks to week 1. Week 2, we finally got around to painting our bedroom and I was placing trinkets around my ‘cozy corner’ when I took a whiff of my new Teresa Lynn’s cornbread candle.  It made me feel happy and safe.  I chuckled at the impact this little sensory item had on me.  Over the next few days, I found myself spending more time in my cozy corner, drinking coffee, smelling that delicious candle and relishing in the calm feelings I was so grateful to be connecting with.

I soon started asking myself why this particular smell felt like such a soothing salve.  It reminded me of smelling fresh baked Jiffy cornbread in my Granny’s kitchen when I was a child. That house was the only consistent place in my young life.  It was safe.  The candle reminded me of that ‘safe’ feeling.  It was a feeling that I very much needed in spring of 2020, especially now that Granny and Poppie's house had just been sold after their recent passing a couple of months earlier.

As I pondered my Granny’s house over the coming days, and the ‘safe’ feeling it brought up, I began pulling out other sensory memories, like: the soothing feeling of her cat, Dandy, purring on my chest and the rhythmic sound of her wristwatch that I could hear quietly ticking as she played with my hair before bed.  So I covered my cozy chair with a furry blanket, to remind me of Dandy, and placed her watch next to the cornbread candle. 

I spent a good deal of time in the safe space I curated in my cozy corner during quarantine.  Some of that time was spent pondering the items I placed within it.  WHY did they help?  HOW did they help? WHAT was I actually doing? Could I improve anything?  Then followed the BEST question:  Can I share this in a way that could help others create a soft space for themselves? 

YES.  Yes I can. But why?

Because we don’t typically give much quality time to ourselves.  

When you take a break, do you find yourself thinking about things you need to do after your break?  Checking emails? Mulling over the past or worrying about the future? Scrolling on your phone?  Or anything other than paying attention to what you are really needing for, and from, yourself in that moment?

Yeah.  Me too.  By default.  BUT, I notice that the ‘default thinking’ subsides when I sit on my furry blanket and smell the candle and sip the spiced tea, look at and feel the warm, curvy mug in my hands and listen to the soothing song.  All of these things that have had meaning and memory embedded in them over time and with consistent intentional use.  So, if you're looking for a quick simple way to give yourself some dedicated ME TIME in a soft and soothing way, here is the free pdf download link that will easily assist you in curating the PERFECT soothing sensory kit for yourself.

As I was developing the sensory kit activity, I curated a really delicious soothing sensory kit for myself - some of which you can see in the blog photo - that's really helped me connect with a very deep, personal and specific flavor of softness. I imagine that your kit will be as individual as you are but, if you're looking for inspiration, here is my curated list:

I sure hope that this activity brings you GREAT value and I am so excited to see your soothing sensory kit!