Before Essence of Care, I was guilty of forgetting to do self care (still guilty a lot of the time too). To be honest, I didn't even know what self care truly meant. My first idea of self care was going out and doing things like making sure my eyebrows and nails were done, which was great, but I never did anything that made me feel nurtured or at peace inside. After that, COVID hit, things closed and I was stuck at home to marinate in how unnurtured and far from peace I felt. This was the first time that I questioned what self care really was and why I didn't feel nurtured with my attempts.
One thing that I had to learn is that self care should always be an action that makes you feel nurtured. The literal definition of self care is “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health”. One thing that was consistent and gave me joy was getting out of bed and making sure my personal space was in order. This order made me feel the peace that I needed in the midst of the daily chaos that I was experiencing. I found myself going to grocery stores (because that was the only thing that was open) to find things to bake, cook and to sniff candles, just to have an escape. It was really because of COVID that I founded my passion for candles. I have always loved candles and was a candle hoarder before then, but I needed something to get me out of bed, motivated and moving during lockdown. Making candles kept me motivated to keep my home feeling like a place of peace so I could enjoy the full experience of smelling an aromatic candle in a decluttered space.
As a society that’s conditioned to always be on the go, we forget how important self care is to our physical and mental health. We’re so used to being on autopilot that we don't realize the signs our bodies give us to indicate that we need self care. We usually don't realize that we aren’t doing enough for ourselves until we’ve had enough of not doing things for ourselves and feel burnt out. Did you know that your body harbors stress within itself? This is one reason why some people may feel fatigued, have a poor immune system, have headaches or have tension and pain in different parts of their body. We physically and mentally need time to pause and reset from our day to do and focus on ourselves.
One person’s vision of self care can and will look different from the next person’s vision, and that’s okay. It doesn't always matter what you do for self care because the most important thing is making sure that you do something that nurtures you. Self care and quiet time should be a nonnegotiable essential for your routine. For me, there’s something special about coming home, lighting a candle and sipping on a glass of wine while I scroll through tik tok or watch a movie on the couch. Apart from that, listening to my body when it needs rest by taking a nap or sleeping in when I can or journaling every once in a while is important to me. That’s my personal quiet time and it’s essential for me to keep myself afloat. Hopefully you have or will have something that keeps you afloat too.
Self care is self love and personal gratitude for all that you do and everything that you are. Give yourself the grace of honoring that!
Comments