May 10

Your Life Is Your Prayer / Carrying the Message of Great Self Care

Yesterday I hiked in the Antelope Lower Slot Canyon on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time and it was extraordinary. Beyond being an adventure, it was a great act of self-care—to give myself something I wanted so dearly.

Last week I took an ethics course. In one of the classes it stated that for those who work in the mental health field, great self-care is an ethical mandate. It was a concept that really caught me by surprise. I understood that it meant we are each communicating messages to others and that, if we choose it, we are either communicating the attainability of a life of abundant self care, or we aren’t.

Every one of us is carrying and communicating at least one message today. What is the message? That we are worth treating ourselves and others well? That peace, joy, happiness, and enough are attainable? The idea that it is an ethical mandate really inspires me to treat myself well and make certain that I’m carrying the message of how valuable we are.

What forms can carrying the message take (what is attractive?) Our peaceful, attractive presence; certainly our speaking in direct conversations; writing; our words as we share with others—either individually or at a larger level; physical appearance; demeanor; autos that we drive; our peace, happiness, joyousness, and freedom; our lack of worry about deprivation; visible abundance or accurately spoken abundance; if we invite people to our homes, the environment reflecting great self care; our accurately spoken or evidenced fiscal solvency; our openness; our self-acceptance and acceptance of others; knowing that (we, I, you) aren’t broken; knowing that all is well; our willingness to and modeling of reaching out to others; and what else?

I think happiness and fulfillment in all money categories, joy categories, Serenity/peace categories; and self-care categories can’t help but carry a message. In the biggest picture I can think of, self-care as an ethical mandate can’t help but serve society as a whole. I’ve never thought of it exactly this way, but self-care may be a cure for victimhood. When circumstances occur that overwhelm us with the sense that we’ve had freedom of choice taken away, self care may be the return path to freedom. If we are living in consciously filled abundance, or if we are pursuing the fulfillment of any deprived parts of our lives, I can’t imagine experiencing victimhood. Living in a state of victimhood is one of the worst conditions for society as a whole because it produces anger, helplessness, and blame, and the certainty that there is no path (of our own making) to fulfillment.

For some of us, that will be a message we choose to carry: that a sense of victimhood is an indicator of deprivation in some area(s) of our lives, and that bringing fulfillment to those areas may eliminate the sense of and language of victimhood. It is a powerful message. To carry it effectively is a service to us all.

Here is a prayer:

All That Is, guide me to greater self care, to clarity of message, to the willingness to carry that message in peace, and to the certainty of a life in service. Thank you.