Solcana blog

THE PINK BOTTLE PHASE

By: Lauren Anderson

In a quest to bring more nutritionally dense foods into my life, I did some digging online about those superfood adds that you see on Instagram and Facebook and what not.

Is anyone else intrigued by these things? Does anyone else even get them?

Well, they must have my number… or maybe it’s because I clicked on one post at one point in my life and now here I am inundated with adds about green matcha and acai berry powder.

But here we are. I thought, you know what? I don’t get very many vitamins and variety into my diet right now– maybe I should give one of these things a go. And just see?

So after hours of researching what looked best for my needs and my budget (some of that stuff is STUPID expensive), I landed on one called Ka’Chava. It boasts 72 superfoods from various “ancient teachings” (insert eye roll… but recognize the need for products to have an angle.) and gives money to the rainforests. It’s one of the few blends where you can just add water, and I can use it in place of a protein shake, or a meal if need be, for post-workout boosts, or on the go eating etc.

And the adds went on and on about the taste, where other adds don’t even mention that, so I thought, at the very least it might be a tasty snack? So I did it. I took the leap and I bought some.

I have been drinking it now for about a week, and let me just say, I am starting to notice small changes that are improving my overall living experience.

So far here’s what’s been happening:

      1. I feel full. This was surprising, because I almost never feel truly full.
      2. I am sleeping better. I fall a sleep easier, and stay asleep longer.
      3. I have more energy! I can feel an overall energy uptick, that I really needed!
      4. Blue ribbon Number Twos. (Gross, but I had to share. This was a unexpected bonus.)
      5. My skin, hair and nails seem a little more– extra. Like extra shiny, extra strong.

I know I’m probably in that honeymoon stage with a new thing, where I’m all, LOOK WHAT IT CAN DO!!! But for now, it seems like money well spent. I’ll get back to you when the supplies run out, and we go in for the ultimate question, “Is it worth it to buy again?”

Cause that’s the real test isn’t it? Do I buy it again? Do I stock it in my home?

Here’s the Vanilla all shook up. And that nail color! HOLO gorgeous.

 

Which leads me to the second thing I’ve been needing to anti-up on. DRINKING MORE WATER.

Along with not being nutritionally varied in my eating right now, I also am terrible at drinking water. I don’t know why or how this came to be a thing, but it’s there. And I never seem to get enough water into my system. I always want coffee or Diet Coke or anything besides water.

Even though I know I need it. Even though I feel better when I have this life-giving element in my body. Because DUH. It’s freaking WATER.

So why is it so hard?

Well, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s boring?

That seems silly, but there might be some traction there. I have trouble with boring stuff. And I know what you’re thinking… EVERYONE has trouble with boring stuff.

But I don’t think that’s necessarily true! I think there is a whole contingent of people that are really good at getting the simple mundane things done.

They are able to relish the sense of accomplishment it brings and the enjoy the order that it establishes. Kinda like the, “When the whole world is imploding, at least I can make sure my kitchen is clean” kinda thing.

And while there is a little portion of me that daydreams I’m like that as well, if I’m being honest with myself… I couldn’t care less. Seriously. I can go to bed with dishes in the sink. It doesn’t bother me.

I can wait on grocery shopping and laundry if someone offers something better to do. And I will do it! EVERY TIME.

Because the way I see it, I can always wash a pair of underwear in the sink for tomorrow. But I might not be able to share this exact moment with people I care about doing this potentially cool thing–ever again.

Writing that just now, it might be my FOMO talking. But at least I am rarely missing out. And if I am, it’s for good reason. Like sickness– or I’m doing something even better!

I have had a friend opt to grocery shop instead of hanging out with me before, and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive them. I’m kidding of course, because I tried not to take it personally. Because some people really do value that stuff. Some people are rigid in their chores. And I don’t think it was about me.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself. Ahem…

So back to the water thing. I did what any normal adult person would do if faced with the challenge of getting more water into their system. I bought a VERY EXPENSIVE water bottle in a bright coral pink. The color of this thing makes my eyes so happy, and I though the thing all consumers think when they must justify a purchase. I NEED THIS. And if I spend this much on a water bottle, surely I will drink more water! RIGHT?!?!

Now, when I say VERY EXPENSIVE, I mean that in a relative sense of course. It was like, 28 bucks. I mean, if I was buying a car or even Lemaire skin crème, that price would be a steal…

BUT FOR A WATER BOTTLE?!

I’ve never spent that much in my life. I usually only use water bottles that I get in swag bags from corporate events. But that might be telling! Those bottles are boring! This water bottle is the color of my daydreams!

And here’s a bonus… the new fancy bottle keeps the water colder longer. Which makes it easier to drink. Which make me want to drink it more often. Cause now it feels like I’m drinking a coral pink health fantasy, instead of boring old water.

GLORY BE TO THE MIND TRICKS.

This worked so well that I bought a matching coral pink bottle for my new superfood drink. And now my day is a pattern of revolving swigs of pinks bottles, and I really truly feel better because of it.

I’m in a pink bottle phase, and it seems silly and small– but it’s also making me feel better over all.

Economists sometimes call this “Lipstick Economy” meaning, when money is tight, people might not be willing to buy themselves a new house or car, but they still will throw down for a new lipstick to make themselves feel better.

Sometimes, I might not have the emotional bandwidth to do a deep dive on why I don’t drink more water, or why eating nutritionally diverse foods isn’t a priority right now. But I can try a super food drink I found on the internet, and put that in a pretty pink bottle and carry it around with me for awhile and see if it helps.

AND THAT’S OKAY TOO.

And as someone who assumes all great fixes take extraordinary amounts of work, I am grateful for these small surface “fixes”. Maybe the lesson here, is that sometimes things really can be easy.

Sometimes things do work out. Sometimes, a little tweak here or there is enough to set myself on a whole new phase. I don’t always have to be in the midst of a grinding mind challenge. Sometimes I can buy some pink water bottles and keep going.

And then I stumbled onto a quote that has been resonating with me for the past couple of days. It says simply, “Take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.” – Lord Chesterfield.

I am really marinating on this one, and it feels perfectly suited for my pink bottle phase. These things are small. Minutes. Little things I can control, while life chooses to pulse ever-forward. The big stuff is inevitable, as in the new hour will always come. But how I choose to spend the minutes of that hour is up to me!

So what am I trying to say here?

Well, I guess when something is off, there is always an option to fix it and make it better. And while I deeply value inner evaluation and slow, steady intentional investigation of the deeper “why”. I don’t think everything needs that deep treatment all the time. Sometimes things can be easy. Light.

It’s okay for me to concentrate on the minutes. I think it’s okay if I try something just to see if it works.

I will always be changing and evolving. And sometimes it’s from hard work and deep self-reflection.

And sometimes it’s as small as a new pink bottle.

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