Nurture

“Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent.
We cannot nurture others from a dry well.
We need to take care of our own needs first,
then we can give from our surplus, our abundance.”

— Jennifer Louden in The Woman's Comfort Book

Comfort is the key. 
How do you take time to give comfort to yourself?
It seems to me that as I look around at the people in my life, it is easy to tell who is taking a few minutes to replenish their own well.  And it is even easier to spot those that haven’t taken much time at all to give themselves comfort.

How many ways can you think of to give comfort to yourself? 

Spending time online with my angel friends is one of my favorite comforts.  And a nice salt water bath with essential oils, and candlelight, well that’s another.  I love to meditate, too.  And my most favorite place for taking time for myself?  Outdoors in nature. 
Yay for me..  I have a dog!  I get to go out for a walk every day! 

And I have to admit that there are many times that I find myself so caught up in the flow of life’s challenges that I have forgotten all about me.  My focus is on everyone and everything else.  I haven’t even taken a few minutes to hear myself breathe.

And there are days when we simply don’t have the time to give ourselves a few minutes. And that is all we need sometimes.  A few minutes is really all it takes. 

It doesn’t take that much time away from our day to day obligations to return our awareness to how we are doing. Checking in with ourselves is really a quick process that we can do anywhere.  We are always breathing.  Yet we are not always aware of that fact.  Stop reading for a moment, and take three deep, slow breaths.

See.  Feels better already, doesn’t it?

As you find yourself in the midst of your busy day, caught up in some stressful situation with another person, take that first deep breath, and really pay attention to how your body feels.  Are your shoulders tense?  Is the pit of your stomach heavy?  Are there any hot spots?  Release the breath, and release the physical sign of the tension.

With the second deep breath, breathe in the other person’s struggle.  And imagine a color with that situation.  Hold that breath, and transform that color.  Breathe out a bright white colored light.

With the third breath in, breathe in the remedy for the situation.  If there is a conflict, breathe in peace.  If there is anger, breathe in calm.  If there is pain, breathe in comfort.  Hold the solution in your heart, and breathe out love.

There..  Giving a bit of nurturing to yourself can be as simple as taking a few compassionate breaths.