Self-Care Without The Bubble Baths & Chocolate?
It seams to appear everywhere right now, the importance of self-care. The many times I’ve heard people tell me: “You need to look after yourself”, “Take some time off”, “You look after so many others, I really hope you look after yourself”. But what does self-care really look like?
Taking time off do do “nothing” has always been hard for me. Maybe that’s because I was born in a family of high achievers and do-ers and “looking after yourself” never really came up. Well, at least that’s what I used to blame it on, now I’m not so sure…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the act of self-care lately, it seams we all have this idea of self-care being about long bubble baths, indulging in a massage and taking time out to go for long walks on a beautiful tropical beach. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first one to nourish myself in these acts, I love treating myself in this way on a regular basis, but for me that’s not the true meaning of self-care.
You see, it doesn’t matter how many baths we take if we are living an unfulfilling life. And it doesn’t matter how much retreats we go to or how many yoga sessions we do per week if we are not satisfied with the rest of our life. Self-care starts from a much deeper level. It’s taking time out for yourself to reflects on your life, tune into your deepest inner desires and take one step towards the life you really want to lead.
When I was in my 20’s, I had a teacher that told me I was never going to amount to anything in my life. He told me I was never going to be great at anything I did. At the time, I felt extremely hurt by his comments but looking back, I see the gift he was giving me. You see, because of him, I was forced to look deeply into my self and seek to find what I really wanted out of life. I realised I needed to spread my wings, I needed to travel and find my place. I wasn’t happy in my life then and, my then teacher was the queue for me to dare to step out and find my path. THIS was an act self-care, even though I never knew it at the time. By choosing to be kind to myself, I chose to not let his words cripple me but to go deeper within and walk towards my truth.
🌿 When a woman has a desire to get back into her profession, hires a coach and takes daily steps towards her dream, despite the fact she is now a mother of two and has had to leave her family to live on the other side of the planet, THIS is self-care.
🌿 When woman decides to divorce her husband because of an unhappy marriage, raises 2 children on her own and still builds a profitable business that changes peoples lives, THIS is self-care.
🌿 Or when a 20 something decides that it’s not enough to live a life being OK & that it’s time to step up and step in to a life built on possibilities instead of obstacles , THIS is self-care.
Self-care is making a life for yourself that you don’t need to run away from, it’s choosing to be the creator of your own future & the producer of the movie of your life. When you care this deeply about your life, everything becomes an act of not only self-care, but a care for everything and everyone you encounter in life. After that, we can enjoy our massages and bubble baths to the fullest, because when our soul is satisfied we have a deep inner satisfaction with the knowing that we are on our right path.
❤︎