“She had a truly revolutionary idea: she would make more time for life’s truly important things. First on the list: breathing” Amy Rubin Flett
It has been a long, cold winter here in Eastern Canada. March’s Spring Equinox with her gift of extra daylight, promises us that the grip of winter is loosening: The ice on the ground will melt, the snowdrops will find their way above ground, and the trees will begin to bud. Through this long period of hibernation I have been pondering on how we nourish ourselves.
Nourishment tends to be associated with food. We show love through nourishing and feeding others. We have long histories of coming together around food. Yet our own food-stories are so often laden with self-criticism, self-blame and judgement. Our relationship with food often has a dominant narrative of guilt and deprivation rather than pleasure and savouring.
Although Nourishment tends to be associated with food, I’m interested in how we nourish other parts of ourselves. Particularly those parts to which we may not be giving much attention.
When I am off track with my emotional self-care and well-being one of the first signals I pick up on are my eating habits. I notice I’m on auto-pilot. I’m eating on the go, not tasting my food, and using bread as a major staple. Sometimes this is just what has to happen and is ok. But I find it is only ok as long as other parts of me are being nourished.
Typically by the time I clue in to my eating habits I’m also off track with other areas that require nourishing, such as my creativity, or my quiet time, or my connection with people who bring me healthy energy. I may not be moving my body enough, or feeling disconnected to a sense of my value and worth.
When I’m depleted or under nourished in these areas it is usually because I’ve become caught up in old stories of equating my worth to being (overly) responsible to others and the belief that my own needs have to wait. My boundaries have become a little fuzzy.
Once I recognize this then I can intentionally practice returning to the stories that support my self-care and remind me of my intrinsic value and worth. The new stories, that continue to need practice, remind me I am enough, just as I am. That nourishing myself is not only allowed but is necessary. Nourishing myself enables me to provide nourishment.
- How are you nourishing your creative side (I believe we all have one, despite what you might have learned at school)?
- Are you nourishing your connections – with people who encourage and support and accept you?
- Are you nourishing your mind – learning and tending to your ideas and knowledge in areas that interest you (I am currently really interested in finding out more about herbal plants and medicine)?
- Are you nourishing your body through movement and gentleness and play?
- Are you nourishing your spirit/essence/energy, through what ever works for you to give you that lovely sense of flow?
I invite you to take a moment if you can and just consider giving some extra attention to how you would like to nourish your beautiful self. x
