July 22, 2023
"Self-care is so much more than a beauty regimen or an external thing you do. It has to start within your heart to know what you need to navigate your life. A pedicure doesn't last, but meditating every day does."
- Carrie Anne Moss
It's been more than a week now that I've been dealing with unstable health since I got a cough, flu, and body pain. I thought I was already okay when they were treated, but Rhinitis has been triggered, putting me in a more irritating condition. Sometimes I feel like I'll have a fever again, which gives me discomfort and body pain. And now that the weather is getting better, I am worried I may not be able to continue with my weekend travel plans due to my health condition.
I was talking to my friend the other night, and when I mentioned being sick, she just replied, "It's because you are stressed." I do admit that things got overwhelming recently, and I kept dealing with a lot that was on my plate, and the situation probably compromised my health. ***And I often take self-care for granted. ***
At the same time, I realized that I'm not getting any younger anymore, seeing fine lines on my face and dark circles around my eyes. Additionally, more sensitivities are developing in my body system as I age that I need to deal with when triggered. Things in life and stress have undoubtedly taken a toll on my physical health.
Despite the effort I put into trying to balance work and life, there are really moments when work gets overwhelming, compromising the other one. Even the healthy lifestyle I've been trying to achieve is tough to maintain. It is probably time to be selfish again and take a break from being selfless. Is self-care even selfish, or not? 
Maybe yes? But the truth is NO! Because self-care isn't selfishness, it is necessary.
Basically, selfishness is being inconsiderate of others and taking things selfishly for our own pleasure. Meanwhile, self-care is about giving more time and care to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. These are common knowledge.
Should we call it selfishness when we just want to give ourselves more time and care without minding other things in life even just once in a while? Some only think self-care is about taking care of physical health. But it isn't. It's balancing the whole life aspects, to be precise. As the adage above tries to convey, self-care is not just about the beauty regimen we apply to our physical body, it's about finding what we need to navigate in our life, just like balancing the necessary aspects. And perhaps, being mindful could play a big role in achieving ultimate self-care.
Not because we would give more time for ourselves, doesn't mean we would not consider other people anymore. And as for me, family responsibilities are something difficult to cut from my life. The only thing I can think of to give myself more time is to set limitations. I believe there's nothing wrong with saying no sometimes because we can't do everything. We are just humans who get tired and need enough rest just like everybody else.
We don't really need to be selfish for self-care. A simple walk in nature can help us recharge and unwind. Besides, it is a good form of exercise. As of the moment, the aspect that I need to take into account is adding meditation to my routine because being mindful is important to keep us mentally fit, which could us be physically fit as well.
And perhaps it's better to give ourselves more rest rather than lurking online and side hustling. It's pretty funny to think that I have more time online than taking a nap in the afternoon and applying a beauty regime at night, lol. The stressful reality of adulthood. However, saving a portion of our free hours for meditation, instead of surfing online, might change our well-being for the better.
And with this, I guess it's better to call a personal fitness trainer, right? It's time to get back to being fit to boost the immune system. Because better self-care is necessary to live healthily and happily.
Happy weekend. Thanks for stopping by.
(All photos are mine)
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