Sometimes the days are so full that you don’t think you have time to do any self care.
Well, my friend, those are the days when some self care should be a mandatory practice. Doctor’s orders mandatory. God says so mandatory. Soul sustaining mandatory.
If I could go into the religious tenets of the world and make one little tweak, it would be to balance the message of suffering and sacrifice with the reality of our need for sustenance and nurturing.
Joyce Rupp wrote something in a book that I read as a new mom that I’ve carried and quoted for years and years.
You cannot pour from an empty cup.
— Joyce Rupp, The Cup of our Comfort
We all have different soul-sustenance needs. If you can’t pause to hear your own breath, and refill that cup of yours, how on earth will you ever be able to do all of those things you’ve packed into those full days.
You can’t.
You may pretend you can. You may even fake your way through it for a long time. But at some point, you will hit that massive wall and your soul will say, “Enough!” It might look like an illness or getting fired from your job or a car crash or some other “inconvenience” that stops you in your tracks.
So, here’s your permission slip to take a moment, take that breath, and listen to what your soul and body need in order to continue offering the world your excellent, loving, giving self.
About Gina Lynette
I’ve really been struggling with the concept of self care lately. I’m good about taking the time for myself but I’m pretty sure what I’m doing isn’t really reviving me or refreshing me.
Sometimes we mistake time eaters for self care. I talked about that some in February when I said that I’d given up online gaming. At first, mindless clicking felt like an oasis in my cluttered day, but it became a time pit that left me feeling like I was wasting my life.
It may be that what nourishes you is something that actually takes some effort, but leaves you feeling great. Ned Andrew’s self care involves taking his time chopping and preparing the ingredients for dinner. That isn’t my idea of fun, but it is his oasis from a time-pressured day.
Is there some little idea buzzing around in your brain that you keep swatting at? You know… something you’re wanting to do, but haven’t allowed yourself to know you want to do it? Something you miss doing? Something you’ve been precontemplating for some time now, but just never manage to implement?