Spring into Self-Care
Spring into Self-Care
I love it when spring comes and summer is on the way. It’s a great time of year for many reasons. Generally the spring time increases our mood because we see more sun and as the weather warms up, we tend to venture outside and explore our surrounds. There seems to be freshness in the air. It’s the perfect time of year to start looking after yourself more and putting yourself on your to-do list. Spring cleaning is a key part of self-care. When we spring clean we make time to go through our cupboards, to clean behind the couch, to sort through all the excess clothes and things hanging around the house. This in itself is a great self-care tip. When our life and home are cluttered, our mind and heart are cluttered also. Spring cleaning invites the idea of refreshment and that is part of what self-care is about.
Self-care is about valuing who you are and as you do that you will feel more rested and refreshed to share who you are with the world. My journey of learning to look after myself has changed my life. I spent many years in my late teens and early twenties where I put everyone else first. I didn’t make time to clean out the cobwebs and let the fresh air rush over me. Self-Care is the art of valuing who you are and is the key way to preventing mental, emotional and physical illness. I experienced burnout in my early twenties which forced me to learn how to look after myself and value my life and who I am. I began to discover what living life to the fullest could look like. Jesus told me that He came to give me life in abundance. As I began to look after me, I began to experience life to the fullest. I am passionate about helping people learn how to look after themselves, instead of only looking after others in their life.
If you are wondering how to implement self-care into your life or want to make self-care part of your spring cleaning this season, I have listed a few self-care tips below to get you started:
- Take a bath – a nice warm bath helps you to slow down and soothes your tired sore muscles.
- Mindfulness – this is not so much about a spiritual experience, although you’ll find you see God in this place. Mindfulness is about slowing down and using your senses to notice what’s happening around you. What can you smell, taste, see, hear and feel?
- Spend time with someone you haven’t in ages – connection is not about social media; true connection is about being in the same place as another person. It is about conversing in real time. Re-connect with someone that is important to you but you haven’t seen in a long time.
- Give someone a random call just to say hi – as your mind wanders, trust that the Holy Spirit is speaking. Who is He asking you to call and say hi to?
- Have a yummy treat – because for many the word ‘diet’ is a normal part of our vocabulary, fun and freedom needs to be there too. Spoil yourself to something you always say ‘no’ to.
- Spend time in nature – there’s something about feeling grass under your feet or watching a family of ducks swim in a lake. Stop. Take notice of what God has created around you.
- Sit in the sun and feel the sun on your face. During the winter months there are many who have low vitamin D levels due to sun deprivation. Go outside in your lunch break and let the sun hit your skin.
- Celebrate something small you’ve done this week – celebrating small achievements is vital to living the best life we can. We are constantly on the go and therefore we often take the small things for granted. Practice gratitude and be grateful for the small things.
Self-care is a lifelong journey, it will never be mastered and so it needs to be practiced. The fact is that life is only going to get busier and busier. There will be more places to go, more social media feeds to scroll, more things to do and more people to see. Self-care is also a choice. You can choose to let people and things steal your time and health or you can choose to take back your life and put some good practices in place to care for you. You are worth it. You are loved. God wants you to live your life to the fullest. I’m not talking about ticking everything off your bucket list; I’m talking about getting real with yourself and with those around you. When was the last time you told someone you loved them, when was the last time you did something to honour who you are and what God has done in your life? Do it today. Make a choice to make the time.
At Journeez, we offer individual and group personal development for you to get to know yourself better and be the best you can be. If you would like to delve more into your world and see where self-care fits, please contact me or join our mailing list for the latest groups and events that we’re running. Connect with us at:
www.journeez.com.au Facebook.com/journeez Instagram @journeezau
Take the Journey! You are worth it!
Anna
