How To Actually Take Care of Yourself
By Carolyn Shields
Well, are you? What's taking care of yourself even look like? Is balance over rated? Should we strive for more integration? Here's some questions to ask yourself as we brace for some of the hardest weeks of the year: February. (Shivers both interiorly and exteriorly writing that).
Are you keeping your home clean and finding the time to care for what you've been given? Are you doing your dishes, taking out your trash before it's a baby Kilimanjaro, doing your laundry and putting your clothes away?
Do you understand the difference of a social life and friendship, and do you make time for them both?
Are you dressing in the way that you find yourself most beautiful, whether that's in a dress with pearls (Lord help me) or faded jeans and a nice cardigan?
Do you understand your prayer life? Could you tell someone your daily routine, your relationship with Holy? Are your knees worn and rosary beads polished? Are you aware of who you are before Him?
How have you been doing financially? "Eh" isn't an answer. Are you taking your finances seriously, and are you able to say no to purchases that are unnecessary? Can you even recognize those unnecessary purchases? Are you tithing? Are you striving to get ahead? Are you saving?
Are you aware of what makes you happy? Where you feel at rest?
If you're out of college, are you eating well? Do you count coffee as a meal? Does your fridge have more than stale bagels and (WOW, I can't make this up. At this second someone came into my office and went "I'm tired of seeing you with nothing but candy and junk food so I got you these" and dropped a grocery bag filled with tangerines on my desk, right next to my two gingerbread cookies I packed for lunch....so you have my answer here).
Which leads me to ask, do you use your time wisely? At work? At leisure?
Are you still learning? Are you developing new skills? Are you challenging yourself? Are you finding new hobbies?
It's okay if you don't have the answer to all of these questions, but it's worth taking a few minutes to ponder them every now and then. How do you take care of yourself? And what's that look like to you? Feel free to share your comments below!
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