Take Care of Yourself

Take care of yourself. Such a general statement, one we hear and say so often it loses impact. Words, just words. But what of the meaning?

Today I pulled an Angel card that told me “Time-out! You’ve been so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs, but now it’s time to stop and take care of yourself.” I love my angels! This was exactly the perfect card for me today. But why did it take a message from my angels for me to acknowledge and give in to my need for rest?

How often do you know you are in need of rest, but simply push through and ignore all the messages your body is sending you? How often do you look to the needs of others before you look to the needs of yourself? If there is one generalization I can safely make about the people I know living with chronic illness, we all do this – if not all of the time, a lot of the time.

What if this could be different? What would it make possible if we chose to put our needs first? In my case, putting my need to rest on the top of my “To Do” list today will enable me to take on the other things on my list in a completely new way.

I will have more focus and clarity when I sit down to write a blog post.

I will be more likely to cook a healthy meal rather than rely on something quick, easy, and less than good for me.

I will appreciate the energy and enthusiasm of my silly dog Koko, rather than get overwhelmed by her need for my attention.

I will recover enough to go to my favorite yoga class tomorrow, rather than having to miss it because I finally crashed.

Resting when we are first in need of it, rather than waiting until we are forced into rest because our bodies completely crash, can actually help break the “overwhelm into crash” cycle.

Being at peace with the decision to put oneself first is a practice. If you are not used to putting your own wellbeing first, you are likely to feel discomfort or guilt in doing so. But what if in doing so you enrich rather than deplete all the people and things you are currently putting before you own wellbeing?

What can you commit to today to begin placing your own wellbeing at the top of your “To Do” list? How can you begin to work this muscle? What are your angels telling you?