When it comes to taking care of yourself, the first thought that might come to you is a day at the spa or a long walk in the woods. These types of activities certainly can soothe the body and relax the mind. However, self-care involves more than a physical direction or action. It has a much deeper meaning. Self-care involves keeping your energy level high – not necessarily just your physical energy, but also your soul energy. It’s the awareness that you feel absolutely drained, or know that you are well balanced.
It’s really easy for someone who is a natural caregiver to share their time and energy helping others. You may find it more important to keep busy than to take the time for care for yourself. If you are a sensitive person, it may be even more difficult to find time for yourself when you are all too aware of how people feel. Sometimes an illness has to stop you in your tracks before you give the same kind of care to yourself as you do to others.
To avoid that pattern, you must first learn to care for yourself so you have selfless energy to give away. It does not mean that you can’t care for others. It means you first have to make sure you have given yourself time to hear what your inner soul needs.
Those who work with healing energy spend most of their time on clients who are energetically drained, and they must help to increase the vibration of their energy fields. It is true that you can heal yourself, and you can also care for your own energy.
You get many opportunities in your daily life to learn how to become a strong and well-balanced individual. It is vital to take the time for quietness and stillness. I am a firm believer that the only way to increase energy is to meditate on a regular basis. The first five minutes of the day is the best way to start. Then it is necessary to stay in the awareness of what your body and intuition lead you to do with your daily circumstances.
Sometimes it can be very difficult to say “no.” But sometimes if you don’t, you may pay the price with instant energy draining right at that moment. Often, the demands of other people cause us to feel worn out, along with unnecessary worry, taking on too much responsibility and avoiding our own emotions. Some people feel that if they take care of only themselves that they may become selfish. No one necessarily gets along well with someone who thinks of only themselves.
Selfishness and self-care are not the same thing. The key word here is “caring.” How well do you care for another person if you haven’t learned to care for the one person that you are constantly with, yourself. Do a great job with that and you will have plenty of energy to help those you want to assist.
Obligation is a huge reason that we go against what we feel like we should be doing. Ask yourself why you feel obligated and then see if you are first obligated to your own well-being. Guilt often affects us when we have to turn someone down. It can drive you into going against your own convictions. Why feel guilty if you are doing what you feel is the best you can do at the time? Don’t do something because you want people to like you. Of course you do, so have you forgot about liking yourself? Do you need gratitude for all the sacrifices you do? What is it about yourself that you do not see when you feel this need?
Self-care really is all about self-love. If you learn to love yourself first, everything you do will have the energy of love in it. It all starts with you.
