empty gas tank

Self-care...

So, some of you may have noticed a lack of Here to There blogs and vlogs for the past few weeks. And some of you may know that the only reason something like that happens is if I’m taking time off for one reason or another. While I won’t get into the details of my absence now, I thought that since I’m back in the saddle, an appropriate topic for this week would be self-care. Because that’s what I’ve been doing for the past month – taking care of myself.

In early August I had a procedure done that made it impossible for me to work for a number of weeks. In order to give myself enough time to heal, that meant no clients, no blogs, no vlogs, no nothing. I took the opportunity to spend time with my family and take care of myself.

We live in a society where asking for what we need is perceived as selfish. It makes us greedy and self-centered. I mean, after all, who do we think we are to put our wants and needs ahead of someone else’s?

Well, I’m here to tell you that your wants and needs ARE important. Your wants and needs DO matter. And being clear about them does not make you selfish. It makes you selfless. And here’s why.

If you are unhealthy, whether it be body, mind, spirit or any combination of the three, it means you are less able to provide service and care to others. Think of it like a car. If the tank is empty, you can’t get anywhere. If the tank is only half-full, you can only get half-way. But with a full tank of gas, you can go much, much farther.

Self-care is how we fill our tanks. Getting our wants and needs met is how we fill our tanks. Spending time learning about who we are and how we want to live in the world is how we fill our tanks.

Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is selfless. It puts us in a position to be more loving to others because we are treating ourselves with the same level of compassion. Our relationship with ourselves deserves to be our greatest love affair. Because after all, you are stuck with you for the duration. Others may come and go, but you, yes YOU will always be there for you. And you, yes YOU deserve to have a full tank.