“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy – care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life”
Jean Shinoda
It appears in the last few months that my life has gone up a gear in busyness and if I am completely honest the past month has been a bit of a blur. This is not due to anything negative necessarily but the product of some really exciting changes in our little world... promotion at work, rebirth of a creative outlet which takes form in a little side venture making vintage children's clothes, Mr Alfie developing and growing at a rapid pace- a month shy of his first birthday he is on the verge of walking (I wouldn't be surprised if he forgoes this step and moves straight onto running) and Miss Adella growing into a vivacious, creative little lady who loves anything that is loud, fast and down right risky- hence she has commenced Circus for Tots at the local Fruit Fly Circus.
It is quite humorous really that once I gave myself permission to STOP, take a breath and check in to see how I was going with it all both physically and emotionally I was quite surprised when my body started to let me know that enough was enough and that I needed to check myself in for a necessary "service" if I wanted to keep the engine running. I felt exhausted, lacked any energy, emotionally I was all over the place and as a result my body was responding by breaking out in psoriasis.
I had really stopped attending to me and anything to do with self-care had fallen off the bandwagon completely. My attitude had been, if my children were thriving than that was enough. But to be honest, it is not enough. If I want to be a leader and example to my children and set a standard of health and wellness then I need to attend to my own self care needs and make sure that I don't fall in a heap.
So I have decided to take action and have begun a 30 day cleanse to reboot and begin to nurture my body from the inside out. I am excited about this, a little apprehensive but also hopeful that this will be the beginning of rebuilding internally.
Exercise is so important for wellness but it is very easily missed in between the busyness of everyday life. I know this is certainly true for me. Like self-care and me-time, exercise often falls to the bottom of the to-do list.... When I don’t exercise I feel incredibly sluggish, get cranky and daily tasks are a struggle. Exercise is so important for me. It helps keep me sane and re-energises and helps restore the balance. So instead of being over ambitious and setting a ridiculous goal that I will not achieve I have started to make small changes that incorporates exercise into my daily schedule but also gives me an opportunity to have some "me" time. One of the things I have started to do is participate in my local Park Run http://www.parkrun.com.au/alburywodonga/ . Nothing like a collective group of people to keep you motivated and feeling encouraged. I always feel a sense of achievement when I get to the finish line of the 5km and note the improvement on my time.
Lastly, I think it is really easy to discredit the importance of being still and becoming more mindful of self. This is something that I have begun to see real significance in and am taking time to practice this daily.
Every challenge we go through in life holds within it the seeds of real learning, greater wisdom and growth. I truly believe the greatest gift you can ever give yourself and those around you is the gift of learning how to truly thrive, no matter what obstacles you face along the way.
Thanks for encouraging me on this journey
X Grace
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