All rights reserved.
Greetings, friends!
As you may know, I took a short break from the blogosphere for much of September. Shit happened (as it does) and I needed to turn off and unplug as much as I could, for the sake of my weary mind.
But I’m back, baby!
So this first dive back into the pool will explore this very idea: the idea of self-love.
We see it online. We see it on tee shirts and coffee mugs.
But what does it truly mean to show one’s self. . . love?
Because we all deserve love, even from ourselves.
So often we’re pulled in every direction, in order to meet the needs of others:
mother; father; sister; brother; spouse; partner; friend; teacher; coach; caretaker; driver; nurse; laborer
Now, don’t get me wrong: It is so very good–and important–to give. I want to live in a world where our motto is “You before me.” I want to promote patience, compassion, and forgiveness to all.
So then why is it so difficult to give ourselves a break?
Don’t we deserve to show ourselves these same values of patience, compassion, and forgiveness?
Yes we do, love.
Yes. we. do.
So during my own time of need, I decided to get back to basics. I decided to ask myself a few questions:
How can I treat myself?
How can I give myself a break?
How can I remember that I’m just one person living in this big-ass world, and that I’m not responsible for everything and everyone every single day?
So I wrote myself a little metaphorical prescription:
Snap needs a major dose of self-love, yo.
While my husband, unborn baby, and sweet cats will always remain top priority, I said screw it to pretty much everything else. (Okay, except work. Mama’s gotta get paid!)
SnapDragon’s Prescription for Self-Love:
–Turn off the phone. Yep. It’s possible. Turn it off and enjoy the idea of truly being off-the-grid. It’s heavenly. But what if there’s an emergency? They know where you live. They also probably know 9-1-1.
–Enjoy your hobbies, without apology. Far too often we critique ourselves; we self-depreciate for no good reason. We feel the need to identify certain activities as “guilty pleasures”, for fear of being judged. And that’s just ridiculous, friend. No one is watching, no one is judging. So go ahead and watch six hours of Seinfeld as you stuff your face with Skittles. Read the cozy-mystery book your literary friends would scoff at. Use your colored pencils. Organize your chapsticks. Do what makes you happy.
–Just Say No. It’s hard. But you can do it. You deserve to do it. Because last time I checked you weren’t married to your parents, your siblings, your friends, or co-workers. You are not responsible for them, or their happiness. Period. So when someone asks you to a party and you’d rather stay in and play video games? Do it. You ain’t gotta justify your time to anyone.
. . .
What are some of your favorite self-love activities, Dear Reader? Inquiring minds would like to know. 🙂
SnapDragon is an educator, artist, and lover of life. Follow Snippets of SnapDragon for two-bit musings and more.