11/21/17 Lapland, Finland
There is something about Finland that makes you slow down.
Maybe it is the snow covered forests, the quiet, or the feeling of being completely surrounded by nature. We stayed in a little cabin tucked into the trees, waking up to a landscape covered in snow and spending our days outside in the cold.
We went dog sledding through the forest, flying through the snow behind a team of energetic, beautiful dogs. It was exhilarating and completely magical. Another day, we went reindeer sledding, moving quietly through the snow and taking in the beauty of the landscape around us. Each experience felt completely different, but both gave us a chance to experience Finland in such a wild and elemental way.
And then there was the sauna.
The Finnish way of living with nature feels like a beautiful expression of the same idea.
You sweat. You rinse. You breathe. You step outside into the cold. You return to the warmth.
You let the body do what it already knows how to do.
And perhaps that is what makes the Finnish sauna so powerful as a ritual. It is not about adding more. It is about creating the space to restore.
I think skincare can offer that same kind of pause.
A warm cloth over the face. A nourishing oil pressed into the skin. The scent of herbs and botanicals. Your hands moving slowly across your face instead of rushing through another step in your day.
Not another thing to fix.
A moment to come back to yourself.
Finland reminds us that beauty can be found in the quiet things. In the forest. In the steam. In the changing seasons. In caring for the body with intention.
And sometimes, in simply slowing down enough to feel it.
