Ahh…February, the month of Love.
I have a few “out-there” spiritual books I regularly consult. My bestie and I have made a monthly retreat out of it. The main one, Your Spiritual Almanac by Joey Hulin, we consult every month but I also bring the extra knowledge from others in my collection.
Over the last 16 months we’ve gotten really good at setting goals according to the season, moon phases and the monthly theme. It’s looney, I know, but there’s something to be said about feeling connected to something BIGGER.
This month, of course, the theme across all platforms is Love. 💕
I love LOVE. Sure, Valentine’s Day is a commercialized holiday BUT Love day… now THAT is a special day. A day of the year to tell your love ones WHY you love them, does it get much better than that? I can’t remember when I traded in “Valentine’s Day” for Love day, but my men call it Love day and that makes my heart smile.
Ok, back to the point…
Your Spiritual Almanac theme this month is Self Love. “Self-Love is having regard for, and upholding the maintenance of, your own wellbeing. It is treating yourself with the same respect, love and care as you do with other people, and allowing yourself to be the most authentic version of you. Ultimately it is accepting and valuing yourself as a unique human being.”
Maybe it’s just me but motherhood and wifedom can be over powering.
It’s not rare that I feel that I’m attempting to pour from an empty cup.
But it’s also possible that I may be looking at everything through smeared glasses.
Over a match lit candle, an album playing on the record player, a couple Premiers with limes and real-talk only a true friend can dish, I learned maybe my expectations for self-love / care are too high. I was utterly convinced I don’t take the time for self care. She challenged, “what is self care to you?”
Relaxing in a bubble filled tub with glass of ice water in a wine glass, while reading by candle light letting the bath salts and too hot of water work out the kinks. That’s self care to me. At home facials, that is also self care.
I confessed, I don’t practice self care.
My bestie challenged again, “YES you do! You go out in nature everyday and walk. You make time to read, to journal, to write, you’re mindful about eating clean and getting water in. ALL of that counts as self care.”
Hmmm… When she puts it that way… Wait, does that stuff actually count?
I’m still reflecting on why that stuff doesn’t FEEL like self care to me. Why, when I go on lunch walks with my furry soul-mate don’t I feel like it’s self care? I can’t help but wonder if my mindset has some how shifted. Why am I thinking of the walk as a chore when I SHOULD be looking at it like it’s the self care it is. I don’t HAVE to take my pup on a walk every day, I GET to. Even on the coldest days the fresh air is refreshing. Sure, it’s a paved trail, I might not be in the middle of a forest but I’m still outside in nature.
As this month begins I’m going to take a deep dive into what self care really is to me. How can I change my mindset to realize that I DO more caring activities for me than I realize?
What does self love look like going forward?
What changes do I need to make to fill and keep my cup full?
What about you? What self care activities do you do? Do you even make time for yourself?
Maybe we can take this month of Love to set some boundaries and start routines to be our best selves. The people in our life deserve our best self and that can only be possible if you’re allowing yourself time to recharge, reconnect and reset yourself. Stop trying to pour from an empty cup and FILL YOURSELF UP!
Namaste, Jes xoxo
