Today I went to Target with my girls. They recently remodeled our local store so the various sections suck you in. Before I even realized it, I was standing in the middle of Body Care surrounded by single use facials wrapped in non-recyclable plastic - perfect if your skin needs a pick me up and you need to treat yourself. I'm absolutely guilty of perusing the display, imagining myself sitting in a hot bubbly tub with a charcoal face mask while reading a delicious romance novel (now I know this is a fantasy as rarely get myself to read fiction).
Self-care has become a buzz word. It's one more thing to Google, get right and then add to the list of 1,000 other things that need to be done by Wednesday. There are entire nooks in Target built around the idea of self-care. Get a massage, get your nails done and hair put up, do some yoga, grab a coffee. These activities are as prevalent online as they are in the aisles of Target. You can do just about anything these days and justify it as self-care!
This year I'm going to carefully consider what self-care is for me. What do I actually need? What are my body, mind and soul really craving? I love receiving bodywork, facials and getting my nails done but really that's just icing on the cake for me. I am able to do these things for myself because I'm taking care of myself on a deeper level. The rest of my life is in balance so I'm in a place to receive more. This year, I want to cultivate that deeper balance in my daily life. For me, this looks like - getting enough sleep, eating foods that feel good in my body in the right amounts, drinking alcohol only occasionally, writing at least some words in my writer's journal daily, keeping my spaces tidy and being able to save while also feeling free to spend when the need arises.
Radical self-care can take courage. It can be hard sometimes. It may look like getting up extra early to get to the gym or cutting back on your workouts to let your body rest. Maybe its facing your feeling of "not good enough" and standing up to your boss who keeps piling on the work. It may be letting go of a relationship that's hurting you even though you are afraid of change. Or it's NOT getting your nails done, the massage or yoga membership because what you really need to take care of yourself is a healthy savings fund.
This year I invite you to make self-care a part of your life. Just as we do in homeopathy, create your individualized self-care plan. What is it that you need? What are you mind, body and soul really craving? Radical self-care can be hard and at times, may not feel like taking care of yourself at all. You actually might feel miserable at first. Change is hard. Hold in your mind your vision for what it will look like when you've made the change. What will it feel like to have a healthy savings fund, be free of your toxic relationship or have a regular workout schedule? How will it feel in your being? Hold on to that feeling. That's what true, radical self-care feels like.
I wish you a year of love, joy and transformation.
Desirée Brazelton, CCH