Do You Take Care of Yourself?

This may seem like a totally odd question to ask in this day of lost jobs and little money - you probably would answer, "I don't have time! I'm too busy trying to make ends meet!" But I've begun to understand that taking care of the family means that I have to take care for myself as well. I have had to consider what might have happened if I wasn't here and realize that taking care of my family means I have to take care of myself.

I went to the doctor's office and had to wait to get in to see the doctor - nothing unusual there. The waiting rooms always seem to have really old magazines and I sighed as I picked up one to thumb through probably the 40th time. The well worn magazine was way too familiar, that is until I stumbled on and article in the "Healthy You," section. The topic was rest, and I thought who has time to rest these days! Yawning is a major part of our daily lives, right? Well, as I read on in the rather short article one quote really struck me and forced me to focus on how important it is to take time daily to step back and let your mind and body get those moments of rest that are so needed.

"Rest is remembering to exhale and recognizing that taking care of everyone includes me too." In the article author Kathleen Parish pointed out that we need to take time time every hour, day week, month, and year to be able to refresh our minds and bodies. It doesn't have to be an hour in length, sometimes only a few minutes can be that refreshing release that makes the rest of the day possible. Two minutes of turning away from that computer, or a few minutes curled up in bed with your eyes closed and really relaxing can send you back to the world ready to take on your world.

Stress kills. It holds a person captive and can be a painful way to exist...yes, I said exist because you're not living if you're jumping from one stressful situation to another without a break to digest what's happened.

Look out a window, take a walk around the office or better yet outside for those 15 minutes of break time every day. How about lunching in your car with the radio on a station that sooths your soul??! Any little time of quiet can be refreshing. I need to take more time, it can make for a more productive work day for me and a more peaceful one as well because I don't feel quite so boxed. It can be these energizing mini-vacations that give you that peaceful center to the everyday turmoil that is life today in these United States.