Maybe because I just drove up and back to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles in eighteen hours, after sleeping on a lumpy bed, but the concept of self-care is really calling out to me tonight. Plus, as we know it’s the holiday season where “giving” is the buzz word. Not that I’m not about giving, I’m just also appreciating the concurrent messaging for scheduling in some “me time.”
Looking for creative ways to respond to this, I found this quirky article, “101 Self-Care Ideas,” What I love about it is not only that it reaches beyond “bubble baths” and “tea by a fire.” Suggestions here include aspects of our lives that nag at us - sometimes unconsciously. I wouldn’t think of tending to them as “self-care,” but called to my attention of course they do. Things like clearing dust bunnies out of corners of your bedroom, unsubscribing to e-mails and making an overdue DMV appointment. Here are some of the highlights.
Number 58 - “Enjoy the silence.” With one son playing Fortnight, a husband listening to chess game analysis, and my own compulsion to watch dance videos, I have lost touch with the sound of silence. Noted.
I’m sure they’re right about 63 with the suggestion to organize digital files. I know that much like my experience of yoga, I will feel great after doing this. However, the amount of stress I’ll feel wading out into the ocean of my digital disorganization will eclipse any possible release of feel- good hormones.
Speaking of the digital space, Number 89 is one I had never heard of. “File for email bankruptcy.” According to the list, one achieves this by deleting all of your e-mails, “knowing that if someone wants to contact you they’ll send you another message.” This doesn’t feel like self-care to me. This feels like a test I would have given to someone I was dating. Not to every single person I communicate with through e-mail. For the record, self-care shouldn’t be anything that keeps you up at night wondering who likes you.
Given how many times I’ve heard people reference adding “a room of puppies,” to their fantasy company party, I was not surprised, and yet intrigued by number 99 with its link to a live puppy cam. I’m here to report that this puppy cam is real! I checked at night and the young dogs were laying on each other snoring in twos. This morning they have moved into one big puppy clump. If cute canine observation is your thing, I found another one that has six black labs fighting over territory that’s a little more exciting.
In conclusion, as they say, it’s entirely possible that none of the 101 suggestions will speak to you. Good to read anyway. Sometimes being presented with what we don’t want helps reveal what would make us happy. I’m probably not going to do number 12 and “create a zine,” but I’m good with 32 directing me to get myself a treat. Good coffee, a croissant from Proof Bakery and what was it again? Oh yeah, silence.
