Make Space to Nourish Yourself

“Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.”

~William Shakespeare, Henry V

Are you making space in your life to nourish yourself?

When life gets busy we often just dig deep and push through until we are exhausted, overwhelmed and frustrated with life.

I recently found myself so exhausted after too many demanding months of work and family life that all I could do was cry. Somewhere over the last few months I had stopped nourishing myself losing my sparkle and my ability to enjoy life.

As I sat on the edge of my bed in complete exhaustion I wondered, how did I once again get to a place where I stopped making space for the habits that nourished my mind, body and spirit.

It didn’t happen all at once. It never does. We stop taking care of ourselves bit by bit. Work gets busy. Family demands increase. And to juggle it all something has to give, and usually it’s our own care. We find space for all the busyness in our lives by letting go of neglecting ourself.

My life got super busy with the demands of work, organizing a charity event, a speaking course and then my daughter’s consecutive theatre performances. I knew I needed rest, spiritual grounding, and better nutrition (chips and Twizzlers aren’t fuel), but I believed the show had to go on, and so did I. As I pushed through each day I ignored the messages that my body was sending me -headaches, sore throat and a stiff neck. Then on the day of the charity event I woke up too sick to enjoy the day.

We often push ourselves for an external goal that we believe will bring ourselves increased happiness. I told myself that after the marathon weeks I would once again exercise, meditate and sleep more. But before I could, I got a bat bout of bronchitis. Had I put my own oxygen mask on first, i probably would have taken a detour around getting sick.

Life gets busy and sometimes that can’t be avoided. However, when we continually push ahead, ignore the messages from our body, we end up drained, overwhelmed and often ill.

No matter where you are today I want you to make some space for yourself.

If you need permission to stop I am giving it to you.

Slow down today.

Breathe deep and do the one thing that will nourish you from the inside out.

You are worthy of your own love!

With light and love,
Desirée