Taking Care of Yourself is a Radical Act
Let’s do this first: Let’s throw the term self-care out the window. I know, I know. It’s the preferred nomenclature at the moment, but it’s overused and at this point it’s also missing the mark.
Why? Self-care tends to imply that there is simply a box, a to do we can add to our list that can later be tidily checked off. See? Self-care done. What’s next?
And that’s the crux of the problem. Taking care of ourselves isn’t a one-and-done process. It’s not a, “whew, got that checked off the list — I’m good!” moment. And let’s get super honest: If you are a full-time parent to small children and / or a working parent to small children, you are so fatigued to the bone that a 20-minute meditation session isn’t going to cut it.
I take a weekly bath, mostly during cold months (which in Michigan is the better part of the year). Not long ago I was telling someone this and she exclaimed, “Well, that must be nice. I don’t have time for that!” I felt many things in the moments after this statement: Judgement that I take time for myself, bafflement that this woman couldn’t find 30 minutes in her week to take a bath, and then sadness that we are so “on” all the time that we can’t grant ourselves permission to stop, to slow down.
Because really, that’s a big part of why we don’t take care of ourselves. Yes, society…
