Self-care Summer
A Six-Week Commitment to Blooming Into Your Authentic Self
Y’all, I know the saying says that the third time’s the charm, but for me right now, the second time better be the charm because this is my second time writing this blogpost or should I say “attempting to write” this post. Yesterday, just when I thought I was “getting into the thick of it” I discarded a block (thinking that I was just discarding the one box I had selected) and all of my work was gone. I was devastated to say the least. So much so that I went to bed. Yep. I shut it all down, and I went to bed. But what do we know about what happens in the morning? Yep, “joy comes with the morning.” When I woke up this morning, I was over it as I now had new thoughts and ideas taking shape, and I was excited. So with that, I say let’s get to it.
I created Self-care Summer because it’s simply what I needed. Some time to take inventory and reflect on how to take better care of myself. Even though I have heard the phrase “self-care” tossed around for about three years now, I even threw it around a time a two, but the truth is I have never really committed to take time to care of myself. So I decided that I was worth it. All I needed to do was figure out how to make it happen, and that’s when the garden metaphor came to me.
I don’t know if you know this, but I love a metaphor. It might be the fact that I’m an English teacher, but metaphors just make sense to me. In short, I believe that we are Gardens, and after allowing myself to dream a bit, the following is what resulted. A six-week plan to help us bloom into our authentic selves.
Week 1 will require us to do some excavating. One of my favorite books Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach delves into the the act of excavating, and she tells us that excavating is not glamorous work. To be honest, I don’t see how it could be. You see, this is where we get dirty. Mess up our manicured nails, and complain about the back pain we endured while uprooting and getting rid of all the debris and obstacles in our way. James Baldwin tells us that, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” This is what the week 1 consists of: facing what needs to be changed. I know what this week looks like for me. So tell me, what does that look like for you? Here are 3 questions you can ask yourself to get you started doing the groundwork.
The groundwork looks different for everyone, but it is the most important work to be done if we are to cultivate fertile soil for growth to occur.
Okay, y’all, now that you have the overview and an idea of what I have planned for the next 6 weeks, are you ready to get started? We are already two days into Summer as I type this, but I’ll tell you like I tell myself: “As long as I have today, I have time.” So let’s get busy cultivating our Gardens. There is no better time than now.
In the meantime, I would love for you to follow me on Instagram and Like to Know It so you can see all the things I’m loving and dreaming about.
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