There’s Always Time for Self-Care

How do you make time for self-care?

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Perhaps not everyone would agree with me, but I don’t think that self-care is hugely demanding time-wise. I’m pretty much retired now, but even when I was busy in school, college, and work, I always had some time off. And while working, much self-care relates to having the right approach. For example, I regret ruminating over little injustices or getting over-anxious about things. I always made an effort to make Sunday a day of rest too – and to go to church to worship and fellowship with others.

For physical care, short walks are helpful, and nowadays, it’s easy to find information on simple things that address physical health. There much more on mental health too. I remember back in the 1970s, reading The Primal Scream, having heard John Lennon discuss it. There was a lot of bizarre information on mental health. 😀

I see all that as silly nowadays. I’d be much more confident in something like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy For Dummies or Mindfulness for Dummies. I read Christian books on mental health too, but I wouldn’t want to restrict myself to Christian books on mental health – no more than I’d insist on my dentist being a Christian 😀. Some of the Christian authors used to argue that all of your troubles are due to sin, so you just need to keep repenting. Maybe there was some truth in that, but I never like books that offer quick and easy solutions. Even in the evangelical world, there’s always been a wide range of opinions on how to address our mental health.

The Bible is essential for educating us about spiritual health, but so much else is gained through God’s common grace in giving all humans the ability to discover remedies. We shouldn’t feel uneasy if something such as mindfulness or yoga looms large in other religions. You don’t need to immerse yourself into the religious or philosophical background to benefit from some aspects of it.

Regarding mindfulness, that’s the label we put on it, but practice of purposefully bringing your full, non-judgmental attention to your present-moment experience, thoughts, and surroundings is something that people, and even animals, have always practiced at times. But we can break the habit both individually and culturally. I don’t think that current trends much as mindulness solve all our problems, but little things that make little differences can be helpful.

Though it takes little time, we can easily forget about self-care altogether, so perhaps it’s good to set aside some minutes of the day when we relax., do a little body scan or whatever, and also check how we are feeling.

Even asking these simple questions is helpful:

• “What am I feeling right now?” (Name the specific emotions)
• “Where am I holding stress in my body?” (Scan from head to toe)
• “What do I need right now?” (e.g., a break, hydration, movement, sleep, or talking to someone)

It’s good to shift yourself out of “Autopilot” mode.

I’ve always found music helpful to my physical, mental, and spiritual health. I listen to music while walking, both secular music and spiritual music.

And for my spiritual health, and probably my mental health, I’ve always found hymns helpful.