Do you struggle with the fine art of self care ?
Caring for yourself, while at the same time caring for family and friends ? Knowing when to say YES or NO ?
I know this is something I am constantly aware of and is a ‘work in progress’ in my life … Day by day and week by week, I am continually making adjustments along the way.
As a mother of teenagers … parenting is completely different to how it was 10 or 15 years ago. Back then, when my children were young, I would book in my 30 – 60 minutes a day of self-care – for yoga, meditation or a massage… or a dinner out with friends etc. SELF CARE DONE.
Now, I do have more time available, however, my teens plans often get changed at the last minute … so that my ‘flow’ can get interupted suddenly and unexpectedly, in amongst my new found space.
I still give myself 30 – 60 minutes of yoga / mediation a day, regular beach walks and catch ups with friends, however, I am experiencing a need for a deeper type of self care… beyond the yoga, massages and beach walks.
The self care that is emerging is connecting in with the way I live my life; choices I make – big and small, in every moment of everyday. The work I chose to do. The people I chose to hold close. My living environment. The food I chose to eat. Everyday choices.
I call this Self Care for an SPECTACULAR LIFE.
Because every choice we make along the way is planting seeds for our future in some way, conciously or unconsiously. And ultimately, we are attending to our most inner needs on a deep, fundamental level. In a way, there are no small choices… every choice is big and important.
Every time we say yes or no to someone or something, it is like we have come to a fork in the road. Saying yes, takes us along one path and saying No will take us down the other path. Perhaps one path is wider and more commonly used, while the other path is overgrown and less travelled .. even a little scary. Either choice will put us on a new or different path from the one we are currently on.
And sometimes we travel along a path for a little while and realise that it’s not right.. and so we may back track to the fork to take the other road, or even take the adventurous route through the forest to find the other track.
Ultimately this is a super exciting prospect – knowing that we can make these choices and chose our life ahead.
When we make choices and decisions in our life, it can be enlightening to notice the layers of intentions involved in the decision making process. Sometimes this is very simple and straightforward, such as I am hungry, so I need to eat. Although, there may be deeper intentions at work, often less seen or completely in shadow. For instance, I am hungry (for more sweetness in my life), so I am choosing to eat chocolate or a sweet desert.
I realise this may seem easier said than done.
The first step is noticing.
Noticing when a decision or choice does not turn out the way you had hoped … or didn’t end up feeling ‘right’. This may be an ‘icky’ feeling in your stomach or ended up creating conflict with someone.
Intuition definitely plays an important role in this process. And intuition works best when we give ourself a quiet moment to connect in with our deepest feelings and needs. From this place we can make the most loving and empowering choices for our wellbeing and those around us.
From here we can make a different choice next time, so we are continually refining and evolving the practice of deeper self care.
