Day Five

Happy Tuesday everyone. We are on day five of  Self Care November! I hope you are all getting comfortable exploring what self care means to you.

Why now?

Some people have been asking, “Why November?” The main reason is that the establishment of a routine now will support you when the stressors of the holidays set in. If you begin turning a little bit more attention inward now, when you are contending with the uncertainty of daily life, it will be that much easier to continue on through added seasonal pressures. (And even though a great number of people all over the world do not celebrate any of the upcoming holidays…duly noted. Everyone can benefit from a supportive routine.)

Holiday transformation

Close your eyes, and breathe deeply. Inhale through your nose and exhale in a slow stream out through your mouth. Imagine you are in your safe place, the one we discussed in the previous post. Picture yourself walking out of that space, and forward in time towards the events of the coming days. Continue to hold a steady breath as you feel emotions wash over you. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, imagine what that will look like this year. Just let the images come. Allow them to float to the surface, revealing your expectations. Notice sensations in your body. Which emotions challenge you? Which ones feel uplifting? If you practice any holidays in December imagine what that will look like this year. Again, allow the images to float to the surface without imposed structure or judgment. Continue breathing, focusing on balanced inhalation and exhalation. Now imagine New Years in the same manner as the other holidays. Breathe into the sensations that arise, and know that the emotions are coming from inside yourself. They cannot harm you. Picture yourself entering your safe place once again. You are completely calm and content. You are pacified. When it feels right, open your eyes.

Write down each holiday you pictured, then the emotions that went along with each one. If you record any emotions that you do not want to be a part of your holiday season, write down the opposite feeling next to it.

Do this exercise again tomorrow, but instead of letting any emotion rise up, visualize each holiday with the emotions of your choosing. The more consistently you visualize what you want from the holidays, the better your chances of getting it.

Update on the list

I recently explored what it means to be an expert. This has been amazing. Definitions of words? So great. We have these conceptual notions of what words are, yes. But to really understand what a word is, to see the other words that explain precisely what that one word is…come on! Literacy is magic.

Here are the findings so far:

When you type it into ye olde Google, we see…

noun

a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.

adjective

having or involving authoritative knowledge.

To get even more clarity, I looked up the word authoritative.

For this one the first definition was the best fit.

adjective

able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable.

Further research (cough Wikipedia cough) dug up the notion that ‘comprehensive knowledge’ included training as well as real-world experience.

Are you an expert in anything? Is there something in which you would like to develop your expertise? How does this connect to self care, if at all?

It’s been great to hear from a few of you so far, keep the feedback coming.

Here’s a quote to round it all out!

“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”

-William Benjamin Basil King