I love these two photos that express the healing power of water and ways in which we use water to care for ourselves and others around the globe.
Hey cherie,
Self-care. A expression that seem to float in the air all around us these days. What do you think of when you hear "self-care"?
Sometimes "self-care" reminds me to book a facial, or I'll look down at my nails, and think, yes it's time for a little something. Admittedly I do my own nails, but if you love to relax and have someone do yours, go for it! A couple of summers ago, I booked mother-daughter mani- pedis at a local salon that had surprisingly maniacal massage chairs - the force of the mechanical massage was incredibly rough on our backs, and as we each inched up to move away, the unrelenting chairs continued to move toward us!
The two salon pampering self-care treatments that I make time for are facials ('cause it's uber relaxing to lie under snuggly warm towels in a dark quiet room while someone applies luxuriously fragrant moisturizing potions on your face and neck) and haircuts/blowouts/styles (without which I might easily resemble Yoko Ono from her 1969 Amsterdam bed-in photo with John Lennon). But self-care is so much more. Much much more.
It's about caring for ourselves and for others with kindness, generosity and a full heart, always. It's about
. pouring sacred healing water from the Ganges River in Varanasi over your family member or friend
. sheltering your bestie from a tropical rainstorm with a jumbo leaf on your walk home from school
. reading to someone whose eyes can no longer see words on a page
. making collaborative art with people to celebrate the lifetime joys of their families, pets, favorite foods and special places
. teaching a child to read words and picture books
. practicing yoga with friends and taking a detox steam/sauna together that promises to solve all your personal and global problems
. gently cleansing your skin with sulfate-free soaps (see blog post link in skincare 101 below, and click on read more for full info)
. sipping hot cocoa and sharing hearts and souls with a friend on a winter nature hike
. unplugging and laying on your bed with only freely flowing dreams and an uncharted meditation in your head
. baking your daughter's favorite French onion soup and cheese onion tarte as the winter snowstorm blows outside
. working on a jigsaw puzzle with family and friends over weeks, with no particular end in sight
. rescuing the last kitten at the shelter because your daughter insists that she's "the one" and she turns out to be right
. dancing in your living room and bravely (ridiculously so) trying out moves from "Dancing with the Stars"
. exfoliating twice weekly with sugar scrubs (see blog post link in skincare 101 below, and click on read more for full info)
. sharing a long distance call with a BFF whom you haven't seen in ages, but you chat as if it's been only 5 minutes since you last spoke
. going on girlfriend weekends: driving to an airbnb, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together, indulging in spa treatments and shopping, playing games and talking, sharing life stories until the cows come home, and still wishing you had more time together
. moisturizing, moisturizing, moisturizing (see blog post link in skincare 101 below, and click on read more for full info)
. hosting a cozy luncheon or dinner party for family and friends
. watching a rom-com with a friend and laughing and shedding a few tears at the same moments
. taking a long hot soak with fragrant bath melts, candles all around and a hot cocoa (see blog post link in skincare 101 below and read more for full blog post), because sometimes personal rituals can be the self-care you need to get ready for all the other kinds of full hearted self-care
And your list may go on and on. I hope it does.
Perhaps we won't be able to indulge in every manner of self-care on our lists due to the rising spread of COVID which has separated many of us from our loved ones, but my hope is that around the corner, we will be able to reunite again.
I must say, we've been amazingly creative in discovering and creating new ways to connect with and care for one another safely during this challenging time. We continue to do so, as we inherently recognize the necessity of connecting with others for our collective well being.
Princess Di is spot on. We need to show how much we truly care for each other, and therein care for ourselves. It's our universal connection, the most exquisite connection - when we're plugged into each other, into our hearts, souls and minds. What could be better? Self-care is that connection, and the potential for connection is infinite. Let's move together toward this kind of self-care with others as we begin the new year 2022.
May you continue to discover a plethora of ways to care for yourself and for others.
Warmest hugs,
Raulla xoxo
