Last weekend we celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday. A group of us were sitting around the fire, chatting and listening to music when the soundtrack to La Vie en Rose started playing. Everyone quietened down as Edith Piaf’s deep, soulful voice sang “non, je ne regretted rien” – no regrets. (I am listening to the song right now as I type this blog and remember the moment clearly.)
When the song finished, my brother-in-law said: “You don’t know what this song means to me”. In 2017 he and my sister-in-law visited Italy for their wedding anniversary. There he bought one of those small wind-up record players, that’s barely bigger than two matchboxes placed on top of each other. This specific one plays “No regrets” when you wind it up – the song we had just listened to. He had bought it as a souvenir of their trip together.
Finding Calm in Chaos: A Sensory Snack Story
The small record player now stands on top of their shelf at home. He told us how, when his world is in chaos – the three children are all shouting at once, the dog is barking, the dinner is burning and he just wants to run away – he turns to the record player, lifts it to his ear and listens to Edith Piaf’s calming voice.
The reason this story stuck with me, and why I was so excited to hear it, was because he was making use of his sensory system to regulate his arousal level. He was using a technique we call a sensory snack. My brother-in-law realised that he was overwhelmed and he used his auditory system to calm down and make it through “Chaos Hour” in the house, without killing someone or running away!
Self-Care Starts with Self-Love
His story highlights the importance of self-love and self-care. February is the month of love, and at Sensory Intelligence® Consulting, we firmly believe that if you want to show love to anyone else, you need to start with loving yourself. If you don’t take care of yourself first, then how can you take care of others? As the saying goes: “You can’t fill an empty cup”
