“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
-Sharon Salzberg
How often do you feel like you’re running on empty? Too often? I understand.
Our social norms have high expectations for you to be serving others; being very involved in your family, your school, your kids’ school, kids’ sports and events, your community, your church… and all of them (not just one!).
Constantly living life like that will definitely empty the tank.
The ability for us to serve others starts with caring for ourselves, filling our own tank.
Think about it, what do they tell you on the airplane about the oxygen masks? Put on your own mask and then assist someone else.
It’s not selfish – it’s survival. And here’s the thing, when you can take it past a level of just survival, it allows you to thrive more. If you can be giving yourself more than just oxygen and food, but rather self-care, enjoyment, fun and relaxation – on purpose. Then you are shifting the needle.
It’s about capacity. Your capacity to perform the tasks and responsibilities in your life from a place where you’re full, rather than running on empty. Such as…
- Putting the road rage aside and having some patience for the slow driver.
- Being able to actually stop and listen to your kids’ (or spouse’s) day, instead of multitasking and missing the small, yet significant victories.
- Cooking a healthy dinner instead of grabbing fast food.
- Having the energy to take time for yourself instead of falling into bed exhausted…just to get up and do it all over again.
By serving yourself, by dishing up some self-love, you are making a difference in your life. This self-investment ALLOWS you to make a positive impact in other people’s lives. The people you love. The people you care for. The people you work with. The people standing in line next to you at the grocery store. When you are filled with self-love, it has nowhere to go but to spill over into every interaction you have. For me, this is peace.
You may have heard it said, “The best thing you can do for the poor is not become one of them.” I believe the best thing you can do for the unloved, is not become one of them. It starts by loving and caring for YOURSELF.
So I encourage you, during this time of serving others, take time to serve yourself. Start small (or go BIG!) and do something to love and care for YOU. Because YOU DESERVE IT!