Self-Care as a Daily Self-Love Practice

For most of my life, the concept of self-care baffled me. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. People would talk about the things they did for self-care, but those things didn’t sound particularly special or self-loving to me.

It’s Not About the Action, Per Se

A few years ago, I finally realized (again!) that it’s not about the actions. It’s about the energy with which we do those actions.

We can do those “self-care” activities in a way that’s self-honoring, self-loving and self-soothing. Or we can do those exact same activities in a way that feels more like should or supposed to—or in a way that feels self-judging or self-criticizing.

For instance, I can take a shower to “get rid of the filth” or to check one more thing off my To Do List. Or I can take a shower to nourish, anoint and honor my body, or as a ritual to wash away density, worries and cares.

I can go for a walk because I’m concerned about gaining weight and think I need the exercise. Or I can go for a walk to connect energetically with the trees and appreciate the beauty of the flowers.

It’s not what we do, it’s the energy space and consciousness with which we do it. In other words, it’s about combining a state of being with an action.

Clearly, this applies to every action we take, all day, every day. And yet, it somehow feels different when it has to do with self-care. Why is it harder to be kind to ourselves? And why do we feel like we have to rush through the things we do for ourselves? 

Daily Tasks Can Become Daily Practice

I’m being shown that it would really serve us—and all of Life—if we would allow daily tasks to become an opportunity for self-love and self-appreciation.

Each day, when we brush our teeth, bathe, and get dressed or undressed, we can use these activities to practice self-love.

We can turn these things we “have to do” into a sort of ritual. Even an opportunity to “re-parent” ourselves.

More Than Mindfulness

I’ve long considered activities like washing dishes and gardening a form of moving meditation. Some call this mindfulness. Certainly showering and getting dressed can fall into this category.

And yet I’m being shown that mindfulness is about paying attention to what you do for the sake of being fully present in the moment. That’s fantastic. But what we’re talking about here is much more than mindfulness.

We are talking about consciously choosing a state of mind—a being state—with which to do these activities. We are talking about being intentional. And, most importantly, we are talking about finding hundreds of small opportunities every week to practice being kind and loving to ourselves. 

A “Big Ask”

For many of us, this is a “big ask.”

Some of us are being asked to become more present: to stop worrying about the future, or rehashing regrets from the past, or adding to our ever-growing To Do Lists while we’re doing these daily tasks. It’s possible that we “check out” while doing these activities because that feels better than what has been “the alternative”: listening to our negative self-talk.

Many, many of us have been entrained to speak very negatively to ourselves. We judge our body’s shape and size. We judge our eyes, nose, lips, hair. We judge our food choices, our lifestyle choices, our life partners.

Becoming present and letting go of the negative self-talk is a “big ask.”

Energetic Support for the Shift

The good news is: We have massive energetic support in making this shift right now. The Angels are actively engaged in supporting us.

They want us to know that it’s time to consciously choose as many opportunities as we can every day to Be Self-Love. 

So please, join me in this new daily practice. And let me know how it goes!

(with appreciation for the photo by Carson Masterson on Unsplash)