as a strategy. I remember the
day I realized that I was one
quarter of my family of four.
It was a profound revelation,
out of the clear blue sky, and
it forever changed the way I
function. As my beloved
Anne Lamott says, “Now I
take my turn as a radical act.”
You are important. You
are valuable. You are worthy
of self care. If you practice
nurturing yourself, you will
eventually improve in the
quality of the nurture you
give to your husband, kids,
friends, parents, siblings, coworkers and neighbours. The
whole world will look
different and that’s not an
exaggeration.
Whatever it is that you
love to do, build it into your
life. Daily, if possible, but
certainly weekly or monthly.
Schedule yourself into your
already crammed day
planner. Every so often I go
to a matinee movie by myself
because it feels indulgent and
reminds me of college. I try
to take a book outside to read
as often as possible. We
recently moved to White
Rock, BC because I love to
walk by the ocean and now I
can do it regularly. This
breathes life into my soul.
If you aren’t sure how to
offer self care to yourself,
start by making a list of
everything you love to do,
eat, drink or visit. If you
didn’t have a long list of
responsibilities each day,
what would you do? Pretend
it’s your birthday and you
could design a whole day and
night of your favourite
activities (I’ve been doing
this the last few years and as
a spiritual practice it rocks).
Pick a few things from your
list and begin.
Date yourself. Find out
who you really are under the
busy mom, the generous
wife, the organized friend,
the reliable volunteer or
employee. Learn to love your
relaxed and valued self. See
this time as an investment in