Self-Care
With our busy
lives today, how often do we stop and take care of ourselves? The other day my
wife and I went for a private soak at a local hot spring. We had lots to do,
but we knew we needed time for our own well-being.
Why is it we choose to set aside our self-care? Is it because we believe that taking this kind of time out of a busy day is excessive? How often have we kept our head down working at a task only to fall sick because we haven’t taken time for ourselves? Do we believe that every email, text, or phone call must be answered now? If we don’t take care of ourselves who will?
What are the root causes of our desire to keep pushing forward? Why is it we choose not to take time for ourselves? With these thoughts I mind a conversation with my Inner Voice may add clarity to the subject of taking time for ourselves. My questions will be in italics.
~~~
Do we know it
is a choice when we don’t take time for ourselves?
People have been taught that to be successful in life is to work through any form of discomfort. They fail to recognize that the more they keep their head down, the more inner guidance they may be blocking. Everyone needs a break every once in a while. Nature takes a rest during Autumn and Winter. People are the same way, the human body needs time to rejuvenate from a heavy workload.
Often people will choose work as more important than time for themselves, because they believe society will judge them as lazy if they take a few hours off. When a person begins to take time for themselves they will benefit emotionally from the time away from work.
If we choose work over time for ourselves, we are still making a choice that may harm us in the future?
Everything in life is a choice, love or hate, inner peace or stress, time at work or time for one’s well-being. These are a few of the choices people make every day. Yet they often place their own health at the bottom of their to-do list. In doing so they wear themselves out physically, and emotionally Thereby limiting their ability to see the solutions to many of the struggles they often face.
Yes, but the work still has to get done. What then?
The intention of meditation is to quiet the mind so stillness can be achieved. People believe that to meditate they need a quiet place to sit without distraction. What if they learned to quiet the mind while driving to work, sitting on the subway, or standing in line at the grocery store? Imagine what a few moments of stillness can do for a person’s state of mind during a busy day. This practice allows them to silence the chatter and focus on their inner quiet.
Think of the benefits of ignoring the chaos and noise while waiting for a green light, or while waiting for your order to be filled at the coffeeshop. The idea is to take a few moments pause from the day to silence the outer world and reach a place of inner stillness. This small amount of time may not appear to be much, but it can help people make it through their day a little easier.
Our lives seem to be overstimulated by the internet, and social media. We want to keep informed, but oftentimes this only add stress to our lives. What can we do about this?
The internet and social media, can turn into an addiction. Similar to watching an emergency situation on the freeway the mind is drawn to the situation, as the mind is drawn to social media. One has to watch to see what is going on in the world, who liked a post, or who commented.
When a brief pause
for inner stillness becomes a habit there will be less need to check the
internet to see what is going on in the world. Whatever happened can easily wait
a few hours, or until you have had time to center yourself through a quick
meditation.
Our self-care doesn’t always have to be soaking in a hot spring, or two weeks off at the beach, or in the mountains?
True self-care begins with anything you do for yourself that will help create a few moments of inner stillness. You can get just as stressed out going to the beach as you can waiting for a phone call from a client, or a message from your employer. Self-care is a choice. Choose to take care of yourself so you will be at your best when life becomes challenging.
~~~
Is it possible
to find a few moments of stillness in our busy lives?
Let me know what you think, I’m always open to exploring the conversation further. Leave a comment below, or email me at paulhudonauthor@gmail.com.
Recently I published my book, “Your Inner Guidance, The Path to discovering Your True Happiness.” In it you will find chapters on self-love, teachers and students, synchronicity as guidance and forgiveness, to name a few. If you would like to purchase either an eBook or a paperback, click on the link.
Each week I email an
article to those who have subscribed to my weekly. This week I wrote about self-love
and saying no. Here is an excerpt.
Self-love is realizing there is no joy or happiness in making a decision that will make you uncomfortable, or miserable. Even though you may have said yes to a task you knew would cause you emotional difficulty, you went ahead anyway. Believing self-love equaled self-sacrifice. It can be a difficult lesson to learn that there is little self-love when you disregard your emotional health to please those around you.
If you would like to read this article or receive my weekly, scroll to the very bottom of the page where you will find a place to subscribe. Or email me at paulhudonauthor@gmail.com and I’ll add you to the list.
I’m fortunate to write a monthly column for two online magazines. This month in New Spirit Journal you’ll find my article titled, “Getting Out of Our Own Way”
http://www.newspiritjournalonline.com/getting-out-of-our-own-way/
While in Conscious Shift Magazine
you can find my article, “Gratitude”
https://consciousshiftcommunity.com/gratitude/
Check out these great resources for inspiration, guidance, and wisdom.
Peace and Well-Being, Paul
Copyright Paul Hudon 2021
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