Self Care – What Have You Done for {You} Lately?

Today was a pretty good day, even if I have to go to work now. I took advantage of a lazy Sunday to take a long, vanilla creme scented bubble bath, have a spa day, and pamper myself a bit. Self-Care is a necessity that is often overlooked, and that was brought back into sharp focus for me recently. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stresses of our lives, especially in harder times, and forget why any of it matters. If you let that happen, after a while – it doesn’t. We need to remember to take care of ourselves.

Maybe I’m talking about depression, but I really mean on a more basic level. If you’ve ever played The Sims, you can see how in the beginning, you are so busy trying to build the house, make enough money so that your sim can have a decent bed and bathroom, food in the house, and maybe a bit of entertainment. At the same time, you are trying to increase their skill level so that they can get a better job, don’t burn down the house while trying to cook dinner, and maybe afford a maid (because who has the time!). The next thing you know, they are throwing a sim fit and ranting about how they have no fun, or no social life, or are sleeping on the sidewalk, or wetting themselves in public. Maybe I just have terrible time management skills, or secretly enjoying watching them suffer their way to greatness, but really, don’t we all feel like that sometimes?

I think it comes down to being aware, being conscious of ourselves, and our basic needs. Food, clothing, and shelter are good, but those are survival, not living. Social interaction (even for us introverts), fun/entertainment, and a sense of accomplishment and reward are necessary for our basic peace of mind. So, yeah, the budget’s a little tight right now, but after almost five months at my new job, I took out a small amount to reward myself with happy crafting supplies. I will have to rearrange and reprioritize other things, but I needed something that would make me happy and feel like I was making progress toward restarting our home business. It’s not all about money, either. My yoga practice has fallen off; the number of items on my to-do lists have gotten larger, not smaller.

I was overwhelmed by being overwhelmed, and living in a constant state of stress. I was putting a good face on things in public, but the last few months have really taken their toll. I got a wakeup call. “What are you doing today that matters? What are you doing right now that makes you happy?” I didn’t have an answer to either question, which was an answer in and of itself. So, I decided that the first step was to start doing something about that. I took a bath 

I took a long, hot, luxurious bubble bath with creamy, silky, vanilla scented bubbles. I shaved my legs. I scrubbed and conditioned and trimmed my hair. I tamed my eyebrows. I slathered creamy, gorgeous lotion all over my winter parched skin. I also completely redesigned a website in the middle of all of this, because I finally found the inspiration that I have spent the last two weeks looking for. I decided that I was awesome and completely worth all of it, and I deserved to do something that made me happy – especially since it didn’t cost anyone anything to do it.

The message here is to do something nice for yourself, whatever it is that makes you happy. Do it just because you can. It’s easy to forget in the stress of the daily grind, but don’t lose yourself. You matter. Take care of yourself.

Imagine what you can give back to someone else if you are a little bit happier and a bit more present in the moment.

Scent inspiration of the Day: Pineapple, Mint & either Lime or Lemongrass