As we move in to the fall, I find I always view this time of year as a time of growth, of great change. Perhaps, because I am a parent to young ones or perhaps because I work in education, I see the way children start September off with great pride as they boldly head into the next grade. They are bigger and wiser, and I guess that makes us bigger and wiser too. Or not.
As I reflect on my hopes and goals for a new year, it follows the September to August calendar, I want to look back on that calendar year and see growth. Sometimes I, and I am sure others, look back and realize that we haven’t been as mindful as intended, and that even though we had the intent to grow, we found ourselves going through the motions, putting out the fires, and not realizing that a day, then a week, and then a month, and so on, has passed us by. And suddenly, we are here. We have watched our babies grow and no longer depend on us. We have pushed that vacation aside, saying we will do it next year. We have just been working so hard at surviving, that we maybe haven’t been fully living, growing. Sometimes, we get so busy going through the every day, that we forget about our goals and dreams. Although it works at times to live that way, eventually, we will begin to tire and burn ourselves out. We will begin to regret the decision that we made to put our selves in second place. And eventually, we will see that we should have taken some time for self care, in order to feel like we are active participants in our own lives.
I beg of you, that as you move through these new seasons, these new changes, that you take the time to find something that fills your soul with a sense of peace and calm.
As part of my 300HR teacher training, we need to find a self care practice and commit to it for 40 days. After those 40 days, it is said to create a habit, a new sense of being and commitment to yourself. So I challenge you to find a practice to commit to for 40, and document the changes you see not only in your body, but in your mind and environment as well. This practice of self care is also an act of self love, a commitment to yourself letting you know you are worth it. Because you are. And if that alone isn’t enough to get you started, you will be more able to give of yourself to others if you are able to give fully to yourself.