Self-care

Self care is a word that carries many definitions. Almost as many definitions as there are people who practice it. I believe self care is a balance between expression and rejuvenation of the body, mind and spirit. To start off, I will tell you about an aspect of self-care I am not good at, rejuvenating the body.


Self care for the body is important because they are our primary vehicle for our success. It is the minds and spirits connector to the outside world. Expression of the body can come in any meaningful physical activity, any positive activity I should say. Example playing in traffic may seem meaningful to some. I can see how it would be exciting. However, it would not be positive because of the risk of harm. The martial arts is my main physical activity, although I enjoy golf and cycling, because it is something I can practice anywhere and in many forms. Giving me variety in my practice. Rejuvenating the body is the same for everyone, mostly. Nutrition, physical rest, having bodily awareness, and a basic biological education. The difference comes into play when we consider that everyone is a little different. We all have different medical needs. As a consequence, our bodily needs are each a little different. 


Self care for the mind follows the same formula. Positive expression of the mind again can take many forms. From painting to writing, and podcasting to woodworking. The point of the exercise is to think and create. Rejuvenation for the mind takes discipline. It involves finding, developing and integrating a philosophy that helps us manage our impulses and thoughts. For me that is stoicism, check out my blog post on stoicism, http://frontlinemaandwell.blogspot.com/2020/04/stoicism.html. Weather you adopt another's philosophy or develop and adopt your own, practice it everyday, at every moment. It sounds hard and it is. But with practice it gets easier. Never perfect, at least not yet, hahaha.


Self-care for the spirit.  I don't want to tell you to find a religion or another prepackaged spiritual practice, those work some, but not for everyone. But I do suggest considering finding something that brings hope. Hope is the light in the darkness. So to express the spirit is to find something that brings you hope and exercise it at every moment, not just in moments of darkness. For me that is a belief in a higher power, that we are more than what we seem, in a disciplined life, and in ethical conduct. Rejuvenating the spirit means to live in accordance with our truths, i. e. individual truths. Living in touch with ourselves and in control of ourselves, in my opinion, can allow you to lead an effortless life. I don't mean a life empty of conflict or upsetting moments, they happen. What I mean is being able to weather any storm calmly and positively. Is it easy? Nope. Does it take work? Yep, at first constant effort and many missteps, but it does get easier. Absolute, effortless living is the stuff of mastery. I once met a reputed master. He was very kind and altruistic, so I'll guess he was the real deal.


So in my view self-care isn't easy by any stretch. It involves taking care of your responsibilities, body, mind and spirit. I fall short of my own mark all the time. I don't move the mark to make myself a winner. I do remember my self care and to treat myself as I treat others, fairly.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Shena Board, DIY build and basic demonstration

The shena board is a length of board raised off the ground by wooden feet. It has been used since ancient times by Persian warriors to assist and give greater variety with push ups and continues to be used by people who practice Pahlavani. This practice uses Persian meels (heavy clubs), wooden shields, metallic archery bows and shena boards. There is also the practice of spinning in circles, where we get the term whirling dervishes from. The exercises performed are done to drumming and chanting which provides instructions to the practitioners and a calm/meditative environment. Shena means ‘swimming’ in Persian. Which describes the tone of the exercise, fluid, wave-like and circular motions. The board provides a stable platform which allows for greater leverage, better range of motion, variety of movement and is easier on the wrists. Materials: - saw - drill - 3 drill bits (1 smaller for pilot holes, 1 larger for countersinking and 1 to screw in the screws) - 4  4 1/2” woo...
Read more

Stoicism

Early on in my service in Corrections I thought I had adopted a Stoic 'Stiff Upper Lip Attitude' philosophy. I would take those stressors, pay them no mind and push them aside. However, to be precise, I thought I was pushing those stressors aside, what I was actually doing was tossing those pieces of trash into a mental closet. Eventually the trash had overrun the closet, filled my metaphorical house and threatened to bring down the structure. Two years ago, after I started my recovery journey, I discovered what real stoicism was. It is an ancient philosophy that was born in Greece. It teaches how to focus on what we have the power to control, our thoughts, feelings and desires. Thoughts; quite often my thoughts would overwhelm me and rouse anxiety and anger. What I learned from stoicism was to take a step back from my thoughts and analyze them. I would take the thought and weigh it against the known facts to see if the thought was appropriate to the situation. When I learned ...
Read more

Meditation

I remember being told by more than a few people "you should meditate, it will help". I would try it but found it ineffective. What I came to discover was that I had not learned how to meditate. I didn't understand what it meant to "focus on your breath". I had to learn what to do with the thoughts constantly bombarding my mind and distracting me from focusing on my breathing. When I think back to all those times that I sat and tried "focusing", I have to conclude that I did not understand what focus really was. At one of the scariest moments in my life a kind nurse whispered something in my ear that sparked my education in meditation. "Download Headspace, it's an app." Thankfully I took her advice. Headspace has become a major part of my meditative practice. It provided a step-by-step guide to meditation and provided a framework from which to experiment. Meditation is simply focusing on only one thing at a time. You exclude everything els...
Read more