To the Voice in Your Head that Says Otherwise

For years I have been somewhat podcast-ignorant, wondering vaguely what all the fuss was, until I recently got excited about a handful of them at once!

Self-Care has been on my mind, not just because it's an important focus here for Allies in Recovery families. But also because, like many people (especially us women/mothers, who often become the glue holding together everyone and everything around them—or at least trying to), I tend to push Self-Care to the bottom of my to-do list. Which basically translates to: I don't have time for Self-Care.

And yes, I agree, "Self-Care" can sound a bit corny sometimes, or overused, or even selfish. But this is always the challenge with key words. Once they get super popular, they start to take on all sorts of connotations; a word or phrase that started out wonderful gets tainted by overuse or misuse. Who cares, is what I have to say about that. We've got to use some word to talk about that essential, basic, get-me-out-of-survival-mode need that we ALL have to feel good. To feel better. To take sweet, loving care of ourselves, just like we do for so many people in our lives. 

A very wise woman in my life recently talked about how great it would be if we could trick our brains into recreating those glowing, adoring, ripe feelings we get when falling in love, and redirect all of that towards ourSelves. As someone who has struggled with "love addiction" I do indeed think it's worth a try.  Love feels good. 

So, back to the podcasts. One of the podcasts I've been enjoying is a quirky, delightful, self-care focused and Ayurveda-infused show called the Ghee Spot (as in, the Ayurvedic/Indian clarified butter, Ghee). The host, Katie Silcox, recently interviewed a colleague named Brodie Welch, another Self-Care Queen. Brodie spoke about the lightbulb that lit up above her head one day after working time and again with clients who she was guiding to take better care of themselves, and who would come back the next month and say "It worked for a few days, then I got off track." 

Brodie Welch then sat down and wrote this Self-Care Manifesto. It is my great pleasure to share it with you. We are living in a time when this manifesto is probably desperately needed by the majority of us. Think about the shift that could happen globally (not to mention, within each of us, and our families) if we each truly embraced our need to nurture our sweet selves.

Come on guys, we can do this!