Midweek Pause—Self Care

“If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person.”

—Thich Nhat Hanh

Consider: What would our world be like if each person really took care of and truly loved themselves? What would your extended family be like if each individual member actually took care of and loved themselves? Today you have been given an opportunity to take steps to love and care for yourself. You alone taking this step will begin a ripple effect and impact countless others because your personal capacity to love and care for others multiplies.

Prepare: Close your eyes and imagine how just today alone might have gone differently if you had begun your morning loving and caring for yourself. What need for self care did you ignore? Was it a physical need to move more slowly or did you need to build in time for some movement or exercise? What could you have said to yourself to care for your emotional state? What if you had given yourself 15 or even 5 minutes to spiritually connect through prayer or meditation? Now imagine how your interactions with others might have shifted as well.

Do: Upon first waking tomorrow morning and each morning after, affirm that you are love and can be love today. Ask what needs to be nurtured on this given day, listen to the response and attend to it. It need not be elaborate or long—just take care of yourself first. Remind yourself over and again until it is ingrained that by ignoring the care you need, you directly reduce your ability to care and be there for others.