Anyone who has experienced airline travel, has heard the safety speech about seat belts, flotation devices, emergency exits, and oxygen masks. You probably remember that if you are traveling with a young child, you are supposed to put on your oxygen mask first and then help the kid put on her oxygen mask. The logic is, if you pass out from lack of oxygen, you are not able to care for your child. This is the logic behind self care. I need to make sure I take care of myself, so that I have the emotional energy and stamina to also care for others.
What self care looks like will be different from person to person. I might be morning runs, or zumba classes. It might be an hour at the coffee shop to read a book. It might be a night without the kids to watch a movie and take a bubble bath. For me, self care is time alone in nature, my quiet time for prayer in the morning before the kids wake up, date night with my husband. These things feed my soul and bring me peace.
I see my therapist every other week and at the end of each appointment, we set a self care goal for the following weeks. This week, my goal was to get out in nature twice. Once was to watch the sunset at the docks and the second time was whatever I wanted to do, but yard work didn't count. On top of that my goal is to have my prayer time daily, and to write regularly.
On September 21, the last day of summer, I went to the docks on the lake. I arrived about 6:30pm. Sunset was 7:34. My goal for that hour was to observe. I sat on a blanket at the end of one of the docks facing west. I sat in sukhasana and did deep breathing for a few minutes to quiet my mind After that, I watched, listened, took in deep breaths to smell the air, and focused on the sensations of my skin.
I listened to the bird songs change. I noticed the colors of the leaves and water change as the sun dropped down in the sky. I felt the temperature drop and the wind pick up. I listened to voices carry over the water and watched leaves fall and sail by like paper boats. I listened to the zip-plop of fishing lines and the splashing of fish as they leaped for the bugs zipping around the surface of the water. I felt the worn wood of the docks on my bare feet and under my hands.
This was not the most most spectacular sunset I have ever seen. It was not one that you would stop to notice as you went about your daily business, but it was a wonderful experience.
What self care looks like will be different from person to person. I might be morning runs, or zumba classes. It might be an hour at the coffee shop to read a book. It might be a night without the kids to watch a movie and take a bubble bath. For me, self care is time alone in nature, my quiet time for prayer in the morning before the kids wake up, date night with my husband. These things feed my soul and bring me peace.
I see my therapist every other week and at the end of each appointment, we set a self care goal for the following weeks. This week, my goal was to get out in nature twice. Once was to watch the sunset at the docks and the second time was whatever I wanted to do, but yard work didn't count. On top of that my goal is to have my prayer time daily, and to write regularly.
On September 21, the last day of summer, I went to the docks on the lake. I arrived about 6:30pm. Sunset was 7:34. My goal for that hour was to observe. I sat on a blanket at the end of one of the docks facing west. I sat in sukhasana and did deep breathing for a few minutes to quiet my mind After that, I watched, listened, took in deep breaths to smell the air, and focused on the sensations of my skin.
I listened to the bird songs change. I noticed the colors of the leaves and water change as the sun dropped down in the sky. I felt the temperature drop and the wind pick up. I listened to voices carry over the water and watched leaves fall and sail by like paper boats. I listened to the zip-plop of fishing lines and the splashing of fish as they leaped for the bugs zipping around the surface of the water. I felt the worn wood of the docks on my bare feet and under my hands.
This was not the most most spectacular sunset I have ever seen. It was not one that you would stop to notice as you went about your daily business, but it was a wonderful experience.
Comments
Post a Comment