Self Care Aware

My recommendation and mantra for holiday time is be SELF CARE AWARE.  Repeat this to yourself as often as you need to so that you are aware of how you are feeling and doing.  For example, how hungry are you..how tired are you...how energized are you...how stressed are you?  And then, depending on your answers, respond to your body's signals and your mind's answers accordingly.  Slow down to notice.

This is the time of year with so much distraction, that it can be challenging to remember to slow down in the first place.  However, checking in with yourself is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.  By being self care aware, you can make good use of your coping skills, your self regulating skills and your self preservation skills.  This will lead to more peacefulness and more calm whether you are at the grocery store with a crowd of people checking their lists or whether you are in a frenzied mall where people are pushing and rushing, or even worse--you are bothered by your own thoughts about getting it all done in time. 

Can there be a nice balance between being social and engaging and just relaxing and enjoying?  For me, I can't relax until my holiday cards are done.  I love doing them, but this year--there is NO photo which is something I always have on my cards.  I am still not sure how I will resolve this.  Yet, I have decided I am not going to stress myself about it.  My baby girls are 21 and 18 at this point. 

It sounds like I have jumped straight to Christmas and forgotten Thanksgiving.  No, I have not.  I just realized that Christmas is about a month away, so I have a lot to do.  First things first--our November holiday of thanks, gratitude for health, happiness, our treasured friends and loving family, our pets...It's not all perfect, of course not.  (I can't tell you how many lies I have to stomach at my house.)  However, take your health away, and there is nothing.  Take your loved ones away, and there is grief.  Take your friendships away, and there is loneliness that no one deserves.  Take my Pippa away... oh don't even go there. 

The most precious gratitude is for what you have that cannot be bought.  Make a list of those things and be very appreciative...spend time with them and give them your full attention.  Be self care aware.  Enjoy doing it, after all you too are a gift.