springtime Archives - MATIS Fourways

Posted on 30th Aug 202330th Aug 2023 by Laurien Lawrence — Leave a comment

If not now, when?

Over the past few years, this “wee” saying has managed to both torture & drive me. Although it’s roots come from Rabbi Hillel the Elder, who wanted to stir up emotion & inspire people to take a stand; to me, the saying can be meaningful in different areas. Many years ago, the business I was with hired a life & business coach for the management team, & this was one of the things he taught. I must admit, there have been a few things that I have carried with me for the past 10 years after the few sessions with him. The bite sized chunks of knowledge have managed to help me move past my need for perfection, push myself to ask the tough questions, & admittedly have made me a more decisive businesswoman.

Not sure how many of you are working on the same LIFE 2023 version I’m currently operating on but shu wee, something has got to give! It’s nearly 10pm & I know I probably won’t finish writing this today but this saying kept popping in my head, nagging me to put my PC back on & just type.

I was speaking to a close friend today & we were talking about how life seems to not want to give us a breather, just a small period of nothing falling apart or needing all our energy. While this saying kept ringing in my head, I felt both guilty for where my head was, how exhausted I felt; & also a strange need to share a different view on it. How many times do we say “I need to book a facial/massage/I’ve always wanted to know more about laser… etc” I am currently typing with 3 .5 still red nails & at least 3 that I practically tore off during the move – because I kept putting it off. How much are we going to push ourselves? How much longer are we going to keep saying we need to do our nails? The reality is, in this day & age, there’s always something that needs to be done, always a deadline, or too many tasks, a to-do list that never ends…

How long are we going to put off consciously filling our cups? I’m such a fan of telling everyone to fill their cups first, to take time out to do what makes you feel refreshed & renewed, yet here I am, sending myself to-do emails & typing with these totally ratchet nails 🤦🏽‍♀️😂 – If not now, when? This saying doesn’t have to only conjure up feelings of guilt when we’re not busy, it should be reminding us that rest is necessary, time out is a non-negotiable. Let’s remember that when we’re empty, we have nothing to give, we’re tired & grumpy, & cannot possibly give our loved ones the best of ourselves, so how about we carve the time out to make sure we are able to work at the productivity level we should be, & prevent the impending burn-out looming over (most of) our heads.

As you all know, we’ve just moved premises (signage still to come, thank you for your patience) & we have been just so grateful to each & every single one of you who have come in & said all the wonderful things you’ve said, continued to cheer us on, & encouraging us at every point – we’re just nuts about you! ❤️🥜

As we prepare for Spring, warmer nights, open toe shoes, shorts – let’s also say “If not now, when” for that pedi, wax/laser etc. Let’s get Spring ready!

Are you going to start setting aside the time you need for you too?

Posted on 3rd Sep 20213rd Sep 2021 by Laurien Lawrence — 5 Comments

What will Spring bring this year?

Everytime the end of the month comes i’m surprised! Surely i should be expecting it after all these years of “end of month” schedules, the reminders on my calendar & my pretty weekly planner on my office wall don’t seem to cushion the blow much, it’s a shocker everytime! Before I know it it’s time for newsletter, blog, payments & my monthly double dose of stress & anxiety 😖

It’s been a rough few weeks & I really feel that time is just so ruthless, ticking away when you desperately need it to give you a break. Yesterday i looked at the date & for once instead of stressing myself out even more to finish the newsletter or panic, I went home! Those of you who know me know that I can be a little too hard on myself.
When i was sitting on my patio wondering what to write about this month I gazed at a tree in my garden, a memory of when I moved in came to mind & a few memories that once again reinforced the fact that no matter how you feel, or what’s happening around you, time marches on & seasons change. How we choose to look at this fact will change how we move forward & let’s be honest, what better time is there to change direction & outlook on life than Springtime? 🌻

Last night I watched an episode of “The Good Doctor” & there was a woman who couldn’t feel physical or emotional pain, if that were an option, would you choose to feel no pain? My answer … absolutely not! If we can’t feel the pain & frustration, that means we wouldn’t feel joy, peace, happiness or love either! So don’t you think it’s all worth it?

Being the person in charge is stressful (to say the least) & over the past few years this business has brought me to tears, made me question my sanity (at least once a week at best), made me feel insecure & sometimes like a fraud, but also has given me great confidence, pushed me out of my comfort zone, often, & stretched me in ways I couldn’t even explain. Over the past few weeks it’s also taught me that no matter what I’m going through it needs me, when challenges arise it reminds me that I have the God given capacity to fix it.

11 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. 12 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” Song of Songs 2:11-13

I’m sitting on the edge of something great, at the end of a season in my life & looking up in anticipation for what God has in store for me, before I jump in I’ve decided I need to make some vows to myself:

Be kind
Be patient
Only do what you are able to do today

What are you expecting from the new season in your life & how are you choosing to look at it? What do you think you need to work on to be happier? How do you show yourself that you’re valuable, irreplaceable, the apple of God’s eye? I suggest we all start with us & start today.

I am in a spa all the time but neglect my toes, often say i need microneedling but just keep working & say I need to get back to pilates but before I know it I realise the last time i had a pedicure was April for my bestie’s wedding & the last time I was in pilates was possibly nearly a year ago! How about we take a sec to take stock of the things that are compiling who we are, who are the people that make you feel powerful? What are the things that give you peace & joy?What do you need more of?

I’m starting by walking to reception to book myself a pedi to match my gorgeous red nails!

Hope to see you at the spa soon (I’ve put my personal favs on special this month!)

Laurien ❤

change, God's plan, happiness, life, love, rednails, song of solomon, song of songs, spring, springtime

Posted on 28th Jul 202129th Jul 2021 by Laurien Lawrence — Leave a comment

The gift in letting go

Isn’t it funny that the harder we try to control things, the more planning we do to make sure things work out just right, the more we hold onto what we think is the best thing for us, the more stressed out we get? 😕

Back pain, headaches & confused skin must then come from our, (or maybe just my) need to make sure we have everything organised & 100% worked out?

As I think about the month that lies ahead, what happened this month in years gone by, & how I’ve seemed to use August as a time of re-evaluation, I see that in my effort to let go and not plan as much, I’m planning… go figure. There have been many times I’ve done a wardrobe overhaul, a social media cleanup or a friendship reevaluation during this time of year, I think it’s knowing that the winter is ending, that spring is on it’s way, or maybe just being a little gatvol… or maybe knowing that I’m growing & changing again & sometimes that growth means having to let more things go.

August to me, is a time to renew, to say goodbye to bad things & usher in all the “new” life has to offer with the blossoming of Springtime. The idea of Spring holds so much promise for better & what a fantastic time to remind ourselves that the most beautiful changes often happen when we don’t feel ready at all, & having an open heart & mind makes these beautiful changes flow easily. Let’s make space for the new this month by looking at where we’ve struggled to let go & how letting go can be a precious gift we can give ourselves!

This month I’m really excited to focus the whole month on renewal & I really want to stress the importance of renewal in different areas of our lives, our minds, our attitudes & our skins! The good book speaks about how we are transformed by the renewal of our minds… I don’t think I spent enough time dissecting this until I found my mind at low points more often than I’d care to admit. Humans are fragile creatures aren’t we? From one day to the next, one conversation to the next, our moods, outlooks & view of things can so easily be changed. I guess what I’m trying to say is, things affect us, life can throw us challenges we aren’t equipped to face so how do we navigate this?

Ending one week on a high, feeling prepared & ready for the next week’s meetings can be thrown upside down in a matter of minutes, c’est la vie… Here’s what I’ve learned:

Nothing is set in stone & that leaves room for better than you expect
The old must be lost for us to find the new
Tomorrow is another opportunity to start again
Maturity does not come with age, only focus on what you can change

Life is full and overflowing with the new but it is necessary to empty out the old to make space for the new to enter
Eileen Caddy

August often makes me think of how I used to explain a weekly skincare routine to my clients as a new, young & foolish (haha) junior therapist & how even when my therapists tell me they’re so tired of hearing my boring explanation, I can’t help but think I was flippen smart even in 2003! 🤓 So remember, your mask & exfoliator are like husband & wife in a healthy marriage, they work better together. Even though they can work independently their best work is together!

So, let’s look at all the things we’ve tried to cling to, all the “more” that made us feel lack, all the plans we had that never came to fruition & let it all go. Take your fav Matis exfoliator & mask & let’s scrub off all our old attitudes, our negative mindsets, our dull, dry mentality (& skin cells) & pump ourselves full of life (& hyaluronic acid!) Let’s get our minds & our skin ready to receive all the “new” life has in store for us.

Scruba-dub-dub!