When we talk self-care it’s important to remember the value of all stages of the cycle: Idea generation and creative thought, belief and confidence, excitement and preparation, movement and execution, completion and evaluation, self check-in and rest.  Aside from the physical effort, there is an emotional process that goes along with this as well.  We are trained to keep moving forward no matter what, that the only value we have is in our productivity (see last week’s post about everyone having value).  The human body, mind, soul (whatever you believe in) isn’t designed to be in a state of productivity at all times.  The mind needs to rest and recharge and recuperate as much as the body.  Between the physical and emotional, there is a need to find a way to put the energy back into our bodies as much as we have a need to discharge that energy.  The question is how often do we recharge ourselves?  Where in life can we recharge?  Those moments when we think we can’t move on are the times we need to dig deep and ask if it’s a matter of pausing, depletion, or recharging.

This world, this society, whatever you want to call the human group at large, will try to convince us of our need to be in constant motion, the need to produce, the need to prove worth and our earning power (whether monetarily or from accolades).  There are times we must push through and do the work even when we don’t feel lie it.  But there are times we need to stop.  It doesn’t just need to be a physical recharge, sometimes we need a mental recharge as well.  We need to check in spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, socially, interpersonally, intra-personally, creatively, and probably even more ways than that.  Each one has a different need to satisfy and will require a different way of recharging.  Knowing how to do that and what works for each of us takes time and practice.  Further, the way we recharge for each of those areas looks different for each of us but the goal is the same: to establish awareness of our needs and establish balance back in our lives. 

Life won’t always be a perfect play of things working out, a constant perfect awareness and alignment with who we are, or a win every second of every day. It is a perfect alchemical amalgamation of ebbs and flows in all areas.  We need to taste the highs and lows and experience the learning process of this game.  We are meant to tap int the source within each of us and allow what we need to do to happen.  There is a season for everything and a cycle we all follow.  The more aligned with the seasons and our personal cycles, the easier it is to tap into those ebbs.  It’s finding the area that needs attention and working on that in the moment—that requires presence and self-awareness.  It’s knowing that everything has a season of bearing fruit, a season to harvest the idea, and a season where the field lays fallow.  During the downtime is when we do the work in other areas and figure out how to replenish the fuel of wherever we feel stuck or drained.  Ask what it needs.  Pushing or pulling or simply letting it be.  The truth is we feel infinitely better when we honor the phases of the cycle.  Find a way to check in and see how we can recharge a little bit.