Is It An Interruption?
Distraction can be a sign
Yesterday, I spoke on a panel about self-care for the City of Richmond’s Department of Public utilities. Many of the 200+ women in the room nodded their heads in agreement that caring for themselves on top of all of the other things they are tasked with is a challenge.
Human care is hard.
We are inundated. Even this blog is an interruption to something else.
Who hasn’t been caught in the neverending scroll on social media or said, “just one more thing” before shutting off the computer for the day and then that one thing leads to three and suddenly you’re on Facebook or in an article that you clicked and that ad looks interesting so I’ll just check that out and ——)
Often, we don’t decide on what captures our attention, we just engage, react, and respond.
Whether it’s to “get it done” without taking time to really think about if it really does need to get done, or checking all the online everything for a dopamine hit under the guise of taking a break from actual work, these distractions can be signaling us that we need to take an actual pause…a step away from the input-output cycle to just be here now for a moment.
I’m guilty of this, even with mindful practices firmly in place.
Intention and pausing take energy, even if we’ve worked to make it a habit. But often they take less energy than running full throttle to depletion.
Today’s big reminder isn’t anything other than this:
You deserve care, too.
Self-care isn’t selfish.
It doesn’t have to be commercial.
You don’t need to justify or explain it.
And you certainly don’t need to ask for permission to claim it.
Taking a mindful 10 minutes, moving your body in ways that feel good, getting outside for a 15-minute break without your phone or to-do list, or taking 3 deep breaths until your belly fills and your nerves settle are all ways to give us the pause to decide what’s next.
You are worthy of care and love just as you are. It isn’t based on what you produce or how “perfectly” you perform.
It is the season of renewal. Be the best you and give yourself space, support, and grace.
xox,
Michelle
P.S. Self-care doesn’t have to be commercialized, I mean that. It is also true that sometimes the right service or retreat feels aligned. My next day retreat is June 24th, you can learn more about it here: 2023 Day Retreats.
P.P.S. My day retreats are non-traditional and often aligned with women and non-binary humans. Stay tuned for other offerings and destination retreats with a wider range of appeal coming later this year.
Rest. Recalibrate. Restore. Renew.
