Nurture is Valuable: Self Care
Nurture begins with self care.
If we don’t look after
ourselves, how can we
possibly care for anyone
else? It’s the oxygen mask
philosophy from the safety
speech on any airplane: you
must get your own mask
functioning before you can
assist others.
We all know that you
cannot pour from an empty
cup. The physics of this is not
up for debate. But as women
living in our modern culture,
we often give to others when
our own energy tank is bone
dry. Our society tells us this
perpetual nurturing is
expected of us as mothers,
wives, friends, daughters,
employees, volunteers and
citizens.
Most of us know from
experience that exhaustion,
stress and burn out are the
by-products of looking after
others when we do not
prioritize self care. When we
are younger, we can often
keep this charade up longer,
but as we age the damage to
our own supply of resources
becomes more evident.
When we choose not to
value our own self care, we
chip away at our reserves of
inner strength. One day, we
will need that energy bank to
be full so we can offer help to