What’s Self-Care Got to Do with It?

What’s Self-Care Got to Do with It?

By Rev. Sunshine Michelle Coleman

What’s the hype about self-care and why is it so important?  Isn’t taking care of my basic human needs and having a little fun every now and then enough attention on myself?  Actually, no it isn’t.  You need much more attention than you think to help you stand in your true authentic expression.  Here’s what I mean.

When you nurture yourself, you are happier, healthier, and more successful in life.  By paying tender attention to yourself, you feel less deprived and more nourished.  Who better to provide this TLC but you!  Others can contribute to caring for your wellbeing, but no one can give better attention to you than you.

We’re all so busy and lead such hectic lives that self-care needs to be at the top of the list to ensure it’s included.  Otherwise resentment can build because we take care of everything and everyone else but ourselves.  Self-care is not narcissism.  Self-care shows self-respect and that we matter to ourselves.  By taking good tender care of yourself you make a statement that “I am important in my world.”  Don’t assume a place of guilt by this admonition; it’s something to be proud of.

Think of it as a spa treatment.   By soaking in a relaxing Jacuzzi, you allow any fatigue to dissipate and your soul to be soothed.  By being easy and gentle with yourself, you allow yourself to be pampered and caressed.  When you exfoliate, dead skin is removed and peels away.  The new skin can be moisturized and buffed so that it shines from the inside out.  When you pamper yourself layer by layer on a regular basis, you then bask in your own radiance and your inner glow and brilliance shine forth as a gift to yourself and others.

This, my friend, is supreme self-care and can be done in so many ways.  Here are a few examples: Go to the movies, have a good meal with a friend (including just by yourself), take a vacation or a stay-cation and do something out of the ordinary, sink into a good book and a soothing cup of tea, have a spa treatment(s), sit by the water and reflect, meditate to gain inner calm, see a comedy show, do some journaling, be spontaneous.  There are infinite ways that you can create your own self-care regimen.  Be creative.

When you take time for yourself you make a bold statement that “I matter to me.”  Do you know how many people don’t do that, don’t believe it, and think it’s being egotistical and self-centered?!   I disagree.  Take time for yourself as a practice, so that you don’t build up the guck and yuck that today’s ills constantly shower us with.  Especially now, we need to take really good care of ourselves and of each other.  When you employ regular supreme self-care, you build your inner foundation that sustains healthy living as you get to know who you really are.  Learn to be your own best friend and treat yourself with respect and love.  If you don’t, how can you expect others to?