Serenity In Motion

Part of the Alchemy of Calm collection

I used to get home at two in the morning more often than I’d like to admit.

Working in investment banking, there were stretches where that was just normal. Long days that ran into longer nights, finishing things that felt urgent at the time and completely irrelevant the second I stepped through the front door.

By then, I wasn’t in the mood for anything.

Not a routine, not a reset, not even really sleep. Just tired in that flat, wired way where you don’t quite want to engage with anything at all.

But I would run the bath anyway.

Every time.

I had a bottle of Jo Malone Red Roses Bath Oil, and I would add a small amount without thinking too much about it. Rose has always been my favourite—soft, familiar, nothing sharp or demanding.

At first, nothing really changed.

I’d get into the bath still carrying the day with me. Thoughts running, body slightly tense, not suddenly relaxed just because I’d decided I “should” be.

And that’s where I used to go wrong.

I thought it was supposed to fix it.

That if I’d chosen the right scent, done the right thing, I should feel different straight away.

But it doesn’t work like that.

So I stopped trying to make it.

I would just lie there.

Let the scent be there without turning it into something I needed to use. Not trying to relax, not trying to unwind faster, not trying to force myself into a different state.

Just…letting it sit.

And gradually, it would shift.

Not all at once.

But enough.

My breathing would slow slightly. The edge would come off the day. The thoughts would still be there, but quieter, less urgent.

Nothing dramatic.

Just a movement.

That’s the part that actually matters.

Because the change didn’t happen when I tried to make it happen.

It happened when I stopped interfering with it.

That’s how scent works best.

It doesn’t need to be pushed or directed. It doesn’t need you to decide how you’re supposed to feel or try to get there as quickly as possible.

If you give it a little space, it moves on its own.

So the next time you reach for something you like—whether it’s a bath oil, a candle, a hand cream—don’t rush to feel better.

Don’t try to make it “work”.

Let the scent be there.

Let the feeling stay exactly as it is for a moment.

If you’re tired, let yourself feel tired. If you’re wired, let that be there too. You don’t need to correct it immediately.

Just give it a little space.

Stay with it for a few minutes without adding anything else. No phone, no distraction, no trying to speed the process up.

Let the scent sit around you, not as something you’re using, but as something that’s simply there.

And then notice what happens.

Not all at once.

But gradually.

Your breathing might slow slightly. The tension you were carrying might soften just enough to notice. The sharpness of the day might dull into something quieter.

You’re not forcing that.

It’s happening because you stopped interfering with it.

That’s the difference.

When I let it happen that way, the bath did more than just “relax” me. I would fall asleep faster, and more importantly, I would sleep more deeply—properly rested in a way I never was when I went straight to bed still carrying everything with me.

Not because I did more.

But because I allowed something to shift before I tried to move on.

It usually does change.

And when it does, it holds.

To stay with this month’s rose more deeply, the August 2026 – The Wild Rose Workbook is waiting for you here – a quiet companion of prompts, rituals, and reflective practices to help you soften into the theme at your own pace.