Is self care bringing you joy?

Monday morning I went on a walk/run and enjoyed the moments in the windy fresh air. It was really windy, but fortunately it wasn’t too cold to enjoy being outside. As I was running I was listening to a book and it was talking about taking time for self care. What’s funny is earlier that morning I was catching up on some podcasts and self care was the topic too. Maybe I am supposed to hear what they were saying? 

I am all for self care and have been learning to make this more of a priority in my day. However, I was challenged to see if I really was practicing this fully. I realized that even though I may have been aiming for self care, I could do a little more.

One thing that struck me was the author asked you to write down a few things you like to do that you don’t make time for. She said to write down something that brings you joy and isn’t something you have to do. I wrestled with this for awhile because most of what I do has led to something I have to do for someone or something. So, I paused the audiobook and started thinking more.

I realized after spending some time thinking, I have not made much time for things that bring me joy. However, I am an advocate for taking care of yourself. Even though I listen and grow to books and podcasts, I don’t think that is what I need. I enjoy learning and applying what I learn, but most of the time it is tied to doing something better or more effectively. Most of what I was doing for self care was for me to strive to be better, not for joy.

Time to examine

So, I am on a quest to really think about this and examine what I like to do a little more. As moms, so often we put aside the things we love and enjoy for our kids. I love being a mom and am thankful for the opportunity I have to be a mom to my kids. However, I lost a little of me along the way.

One of the things that finally did come to my mind was pictures. Every time I run I always take a picture or two of things I see along the way. Many times they are not great pics and many of them are taken while I am running. Anyone see Yes Man? I always think of that movie when I do that. lol. However, I enjoy looking for something to catch my eye to take a picture of during my time outside.

I post the pictures and many times they are not great, but I still find joy in them. I was thinking about why I don’t spend more time taking pictures of things I see along the way. Why not stop and “smell the roses” and take some more time to snap some pictures of what I see.

Quarantine lessons

Since the quarantine we have really enjoyed watching the pond by our house. The pond used to be covered with brush so we have never had a Spring with the pond seen. We have had our nature lessons as we watched geese, ducks, blue herons, and an egret stop at the pond. There are a few other furry animals, I am guessing they are muskrats. Anyhow, I have been pulling out the camera to take a few pictures. The pictures are not anything that would win prizes, but they are little pieces of our day captured in time.

Maybe this quarantine and time to reflect on self care has been good for finding a hobby? Even if nobody ever sees the pictures, I still enjoy capturing what I see. The next warmer and less windy day I will grab my camera instead of my iPhone. I will spend some quality self care time snapping some pictures along the way.

This is only the beginning of ideas that are beginning to flood my mind for joyful self care items. I look forward to discovering more about what I can enjoy as the days move forward.

I encourage you to take time to examine what you are actually doing for self care? Do you set time aside each day to do something just for you? How about spending a little time focusing on you and nobody else? What brings you joy that you haven’t done in a long time?

Let’s work together to encourage each other to spread our wings and start doing things to brighten our days. When we take care of ourselves, we will have a lot more available to give once we are done. What will you try doing? Let me know!