Self-care is hard. Not the “Insta” self-care of spas and influencers, but really taking care of, and making time for my needs, and my wants that bring real joy.
It’s not news that in our culture I’m not encouraged to take care of myself. I’m discouraged away from listening to my body. I’m encouraged to work hard, play hard, shop hard, even sleep hard. (Sleep is one of the few things I’m unlikely to get better at by working at it harder). There are so many ideas and things which are meant to make up for, or act as a reward in lieu of listening to my body. The hidden message of most ads is “This product will cover up the wear and tear of striving so hard to be happy. I’ve heard lost sleep can’t be made up for. I’m not sure lost self-care can either.
A better question is: What do I really need? What do I really want? Listening to myself means listening to the answers from my body. What can i experience, right now that will care for my self, my body. How will I make time to do that?
timmyr.com 
Not the ‘Insta’ self care… That resonated, Timmy.
The quick fix vs. keeping the machine in top running order.
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It’s pretty much new territory for me, Jim. Learning to prioritize, and follow through on, making space for a bit of good old fashioned (and unplugged) downtime is the self-care I’m probably most focused on right now. Physical health and well being of my body isn’t far behind.
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