Self-Care Is Health Care

As I write this post, contractors are banging and sawing on the outside of my house as they install a small porch. As a creature of habit, I started the day working in the room nearest the banging. Then I remembered the Ayurvedic wisdom that abuse of the senses is a cause of disease.

I collected my stuff and moved as far away from the noise as I could—at least while staying in my house.

And I immediately felt relief.

We’re conditioned from the time we’re born to put up with unpleasantness in various forms. Somewhere along the way, we can start to think that pain and suffering are unavoidable. We can get trapped in a victim mentality, waiting for someone else to put us out of our misery.

Empowerment comes with the realization that we are that someone.

As always, the first step to freedom is awareness. In the case of the banging on my house, I at first tried to ignore it, to pretend it didn’t matter, and to keep working despite it. But when I tuned in to my body, I became aware that the banging was jarring my nerves.

I was my own life coach when I realized that I was free to choose something better. And I was my own savior when I moved away from the disturbing noise.

We can fall into ruts and walk in well-worn but uncomfortable grooves as if we have no other choice. But the truth is, we always have a choice. We can choose the news we listen to, the tidiness of our spaces, the ways we talk to ourselves, and the thoughts we think. Each choice we make may seem insignificant. But our lives and our health are woven from intersecting choices.

And self-care is not selfishness. When we choose to care for ourselves, each small act of self-care is a vote not just for a for a healthier, happier self but also for a healthier, happier world. When we are irritable, stressed out, or sick, we are not able to show up as our best selves. Right? Only when we care for ourselves moment by moment do we have the vibrancy and coherence to handle life’s challenges with patience, ingenuity, resilience, and strength. That’s why self-care that soothes the nervous system is not trivial, inefficient, narcissistic, feeble, or anything else that our inner or outer adversaries may claim.

Self-care is essential health care.

So, as I turn from the banging, put on headphones, and play beautiful music as I work, I remind myself that this moment is worth living right. Because this moment is not a dress rehearsal.

This moment is my one and only precious life.🎁