So how do I practice self-care? I realize it’s a wellness thing. To be of any use to others, you need to look out for yourself. It slightly brings to mind the 1977 Boomtown Rats hit, Looking After Number One. When it was released, I heard it on Irish radio, and I rightly predicted that it would be a big hit in the UK, which was rare for an Irish song back then. Still is 😀.
It was quite ironic that by 1984, lead singer, Bob Geldof would be the main force behind Band Aid and Live Aid, to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
Looking After Number One was very much a pastiche of punk songs of the time. Young teenagers, like myself, felt that it made us manly to have such arrogant attitudes. It was all a bit silly 😀.
Perhaps the song was Bob’s way of saying that he didn’t like being pushed around or being told how to think or what to do by wider society. That’s one aspect of self-care. But maybe the main aspect of self-care is taking responsibility to do what is necessary to maintain good health, physically, mentally, and spiritually. So personally, for physical health, for me it’s mainly walking. That helps me too mentally, as does playing music. And spiritually, reading the Bible, praying, and having Christian fellowship makes a difference. I could also answer today’s question as I answered yesterday’s question How Do You Waste the Most Time Every Day. My answer was Worry. And a major aspect of self-care is doing whatever I can to minimize that. Prayer is one way, but there are other solutions. We obviously shouldn’t become obsessed with pampering ourselves. However, we even see animals playing and resting in addition to working. It all has a purpose. So, it’s OK to love ourselves, but first and foremost, we love God and others.
Back at Christmas 1984, it was nice to hear all the pop stars singing about praying and caring for others in the Band Aid single. Doubtless, they were heavily criticized, but thankfully, being mean was going out of fashion. My impression is that we’re getting better at loving others, but we still haven’t made much progress with the first and greatest commandment, loving God.
Luke 10:27
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.
We love God and others not as a self-care practice, but, as a by product, doing so does help us with self-care because we are fulfilling the purpose for which we were created; to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In that, Jesus is our model. He spent much time alone with his father, and sometimes insisted on this when other people had ideas of how he should be spending his time.
Luke 5:15-16
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Hibernia Gospel 