Life is stressful, hard, and frustrating. Often at the same time. When humans were still hunter-gatherers roaming the fields searching for food, it was the stress of not finding food that drove them. And today, it is the stress of the world. Stress about the rapidly collapsing environment, or the after-effects of the pandemic on livelihoods, or just stress about performing our work properly.
There will perhaps be a time when we have nothing to stress about. But that time isn’t right now. There are a lot of things to stress about and a ton more of things that we stress about but shouldn’t.
We all know what the effects of stress can be on our bodies. Stress is the insidious enemy that wrecks our bodies from within, attacking each part in tandem. Our physical, emotional, and mental health are all under attack from this enemy. In order to save our bodies, which are our shrines and our temples, we must take steps to protect them.
Self-care is an important way to do just that, and it is advisable to indulge in self-care every once in a while.
Why Should We Self-care?
We have often heard the virtues of being selfless. How it is one of the purest virtues, one can embody. The ability to think of other’s wishes, needs, and wants before our own. What selflessness is not, is a need to sacrifice ourselves and our health for others. It does not mean not taking care of ourselves so that we may care for others.
In order to take care of our loved ones, our community, and the causes we care about, we must first be able to care for ourselves. If we aren’t able to do good for ourselves, how will we do good to others? How will we continue to have the energy to provide for others? The simple answer is that we cannot. Not without rejuvenating and repairing our mind, body, and soul.
How to Self-Care
Self-care may evoke notions of complicated rituals that involve many elaborate ideas. But that doesn’t need to be the case. Self-care can be remembering to drink water throughout the day. Self-care is taking the time to exercise. Self-care is going out to meet with friends after work. Self-care is a day in nature, and self-care is a night in the clubs. Self-care can be meditating, and it can be buying something from The Flower Pot – Wellness collection. Self-care can be all of these or none of these things.
What self-care is, is only defined by you. It is the process that heals you. Whatever you need healing from at the moment is what self-care is for you.
We must not think of self-care as a reward for our struggles and hard work. Instead, we must think of self-care as a discipline that we must engage in regularly. Not just for our own benefits, but for the benefit of those around us. The healthier we are, the better we can help those who need our help.
