Day 16 - Self care, comfort and possibilities

Quotes

"When you practice extreme self care, you wrap yourself in an energy that creates miracles in your life and in the lives of those around you." - Shirley Anderson

"Time for a little something." - A.A. Milne

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval." - Mark Twain

"What we need are more people who specialise in the impossible." - Theodore Roethke

Intention

To create a page that is spontaneous and represents what extreme self care would feel like.

My process

I cut open used tea bags and allowed these to dry, then I pasted them on the page at random, coloured them with uneven patches of blue ink and stuck vintage tags and stickers on them. Taking the time for self-care makes me feel guilty. It seems like an indulgence and an unstructured instance of laziness. At one level I understand the restorative and energizing aspects of recharging. At another, I cannot shake off the uncomfortable feelings that the labels of "guilty", "sloppy" and "lazy" evoke. I realised that this provided important material for further exploration.

Journaling Prompt

Self care is not selfish. It vital to our well being to prevent burnout, overwhelm, to keep relationships functioning in a healthy way and to increase effectiveness and productivity. You simply cannot give from an empty well. Self care is how you take your power back. It is a Divine responsibility and is a way of respecting yourself.
So how do you practice self-care? By taking time to do what makes your soul happy. There is a saying "You have to nourish to flourish." You begin with yourself. What constitutes soul food for each one of us is different. Also, like everything else in life, self care needs to be understood and scheduled. The link below summarizes some simple concepts surrounding self-care, that are practical and easy:
The following link is from 'Reach Out' an Australian organisation aimed at promoting mental health among young people. It has some very useful resources on the site including videos and audios
6-strategies-for-self-care 
Here are links to self-care ideas 
45 Self Care Ideas for a healthy mind, body and soul
50 Simple Self-care ideas
13 additional self-care ideas
Self-care starter kit 
Beyond superficial self-care... 
Journaling prompt: 
What does self-care mean to me? What do I feel about it? How does this impact on my capacity to reflect and re-energise myself?

Daily Wrap Up:

     After completing your artwork and journal entry, consider the following questions:

   - Has my work followed the suggested theme? 

- - Is a particular motif, story or message persistently showing through in my work? What does this suggest to me?

   - If not, is there a pattern, underlying suggestion, message or idea which it has raised. 

   - Is this pattern related to my previous journal entries?

   - Would I like to follow it further? If so, how can I do that in a way which empowers me?

   - How do I feel about the work I have done? Why?

- - Do I feel any resistance to the process? Why?

    In your journal, write up a few comments answering these questions, or else highlight the sections of your written work that seem to suggest a pattern or feature you would like to work on.