August is for rest and churning

I can't believe it is August.

I decided that August would be all about rest and planning. I am taking a break from the podcast to figure out what I want Season Four to be and landed on focusing on self care. It is not something that I was ever taught or held in high regard. We never took real time to sit and be. It was always the next thing or moving to the next step.

The older I get the more I learn to make self care a priority. It is just as necessary to life as prayer or breathing. It is about going inward. I recognize that there is real privilege in taking care of yourself. I had a senior leader once tell me that you should get to a place in your career where you take a month off. I thought that was quite insensitive as he made the comment not understanding my current situation. I have had to dig in to learn some ways to actually do self care. Here are some things that work for me:

• A manicure and pedicure

• A long walk

• Going to a museum and taking in art

• Going to a small business and buying something fragrant like a candle

• Trying a new restaurant or cafe

• Writing a poem

• Meditating in a quiet space

• Buying a facial or new mask and trying it out

• Trying a new healthy recipe

• Taking time off from work

• Calling a friend

• Spending time with my family by sitting on the beach or somewhere outside

• Sitting in a sacred space

I am sure there are more ways. It's so crucial to unplug so you can hear yourself think and find ways that give you joy. I am a single professional woman. The outside world makes you feel worthless if you are not married or with kids by age 40. I think it is so important to know yourself and like yourself to love yourself before you get in a relationship with someone else. I am just now doing that. I am looking forward to this decade as it is going to be the best one yet. I am grateful and looking forward to what is to become. For now in August, that means self care.

XOXO

Amelia