Self Care

Trying To Be Mindful

How do you practice "self care"?  You know, the time spent on doing something that recharges your soul.  The time spent on healing your wounds, decompressing, relieving stress and letting go of your demons? 

Think about it.  Seriously.  Now...do you really practice "self care"?  Or do you use "time with friends" as your self care?  Because even though that's fulfilling, that is time to orchestrate, plan, meet, dress, bring drinks and eats, or spend money on eats and drinks, be socially appropriate, engage in obligations that you really might not want to indulge, be mindful of your words and socially/politically charged conversations and so on.  Or do you work out?  Yoga?  Read?  Therapy? Over book yourself with social obligations? Are you busy every weekend at the end of your work week?  How do you really feel on Sunday night?  Let's not forget,  Holidays are coming quick.  It will only get more hurried.  And harried. 

So...what do you do to practice "self care"?  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE my friends.  And I love my time spent with them and adventures explored. But...in taking care of myself?  Sometimes that's a challenge.  And because I feel so obligated to tackle adult duties and responsibilities, sometimes that self care goes on the back burner. 

I have ignored certain interests that normally make me happy because of the said adult responsibilities.  Time management becomes a challenge for me too.  And my work schedule when it begins tends to keep that "self care" further behind due to long stretches of days, or nights in my case, that I must work. 

You can read all the self-help books you can find, you can find all the encouragement that your ears can handle, you can meditate all that you want but what it comes down to is that the self care and self healing is all on you.  You won't find it in a book necessarily.  You won't find it in an inspirational quote.  You won't find it from your friends.  Or in some cases, from your family.  It's all on you.  And that my readers, whoever you may be, is what we need to realize and discover.  And sometimes that is very hard. 

It's been an interesting few months for me lately.  I still struggle with the adult responsibilities and allowing myself the time to do what really makes me happy.  And that is the real kicker.  "Allowing myself" that time.  I keep thinking it would be easier if I had more help in my private world, but then again, I think that would just add more distance in the allowing part.  Perhaps not.  All I know is that I need to begin the self care again.  I think I just got so caught up in my own head that I forgot how important it really is to our journey in Life. 

So again...what do you do to practice "self care"?  Curious minds want to know...until next time...elizinashe

Sunflowers Make Me Happy !