Check On It
Cheers to the season of love, it’s here! Guess who the most important person is, you need to love? You, duh! If you’ve read my previous posts you know how important self care is to me, and it should be important to you too. Self care, aka what I call active self love, isn’t all bubble baths and clay masks. Sometimes, it’s making the choice to get out of bed and do something small, like choosing to wash your face and brush your teeth.
It’s common knowledge, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” Try it. Take an empty glass and hold it upside down. Air may flow in and out of it, but air isn’t nourishment. Now, fill that same glass with water and turn it upside down. Water flows out! In this scenario you are the glass. You can choose to fill your vessel with things that nourish you, or not.
I love this analogy because it’s so simple. You cannot give what you do not have. If you have students, children, a partner, parents, businesses etc. that you’re pouring into, you will eventually have nothing left to give if you are not taking care of yourself. Neither you or the people around you will like the frazzled and spastic creature you’ve become. You have to partake in active self love even if it’s just 10 minutes a day.
I’m a lover of baths, saunas, and face masks. When I can, I make sure to carve out ample time to do these things. Unfortunately, I don’t always have a copious amount of time to enjoy a luxurious bath. So, I meditate, pray, and visualize. I know others who get massages and manicures, fellas, there are spas for you too! But if you’re not into the primp and pampering aspect of self care here a few things you can try, and maybe you already do a few of them. Try reading a good book (make sure it isn’t stressful), doing a wordsearch or sudoku. Sing, play an instrument, color, sketch, or my favorite, write. Sip a hot beverage and become one with silence. AVOID the news like the plague.
I could go on, but my point is, there are so many low maintenance ways to do self care that you should have no excuse for not taking care of yourself. Rituals and schedules work for me. Crossing items off my list is satisfying, this may not work for you. Perhaps you need to try a myriad of things before you find a few that stick, and that’s okay too.
My challenge to you, is to set aside time daily and do some form of active self love. In the comments below, share your favorite way to treat yo’self.
With so much love,
Cole
