I stopped taking care of myself, both in the sense of my physical self but also of nourishing my mind, body and spirit. I stopped showering myself with love and with care. I forgot to put it above all else. Caring for myself is the most important thing I can do in this life, both for myself ans the world around me. When I truly root into a way of life that is grounded in every way into caring for and nourishing myself, my being radiates an energy of nurture and love. It allows me to show up as my most authentic self because I feel safe and held enough to do so. It allows me to approach all I do and all I meet with an open heart and a frequency of love and compassion because it’s the energy I am consciously pouring into myself.
But why is it so easy to push caring for ourselves to the bottom of our to do lists? Why does it so often invoke feelings of guilt, selfishness and a sense of frivolity around such a necessary part of life? I’ve addressed the answer to these questions before and I’m sure I will again in the future but that’s not the conversation I want to have today. I want to write a reminder for you and I. A reminder that taking care of ourselves should always be our priority. Because when we do, everything else gets easier. We feel so much better, show up better, live better.

let me put this into context a little. If you’ve read what little I’ve shared over recent weeks, you’ve probably gathered I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed and distracted. Ive lost sight of myself a little amidst the buzzing energy of the summer months and my expanding calendar. I’ve sporadically picked up and put down my rituals and struggled to maintain any kind of focus or consistency amidst all that has been vying for my attention. And somewhere along the way I fell into old patterns of behaviour I had worked so hard to leave behind. Put simply, I stopped taking care of myself in favour of trying to keep up with the outside world. I got swept away and now I’ve found myself washed up on shore, a little battered and bruised and gasping for air. The last months have passed by in a blur and now that the seasons ate changing and life is naturally slowing down alongside them, it’s becoming clearer to me how far I’ve been swept off course. I feel a deep longing to find my way back to myself but I’m not really sure where to start or even where I went. Its not a journey that I can make overnight but it’s one I am committed to making.

I think i got more and more lost the more I turned away from the rituals and routines that had become a part of who I am. These rituals were my way of caring for myself but I let myself get distracted. The connection I was building with myself through my commitment to these rituals has slowly been falling away, so subtly I only noticed when it had become a whisper of what it once was. Looking back, I can see all the ways this lack of caring for myself has been impacting me. Ive become restless, dissatisfied with my life and chasing distractions from all I’ve been avoiding feeling. Ive been running away from the present like my life depended on it and in turn a lot of things that once brought a sense of joy and purpose are hanging on by a thread through lack of attention. And so to return to a place of centred presence I must lovingly put my pieces back together.

taking care of yourself is about so much more than bubble baths and skin care routines. It is about cultivating a way of life that makes you feel good and reflects your truest nature. It is about identifying things that are important to you and committing yourself wholeheartedly to them. It is about learning to say no to things that don’t make you feel good and being disciplined in maintaining the things that do. Its about creating boundaries around your energy, sharing it with people and spaces that respect and mirror it and protecting yourself from those that do not. Taking care of yourself means pouring love and kindness and compassion into every corner of your being and fiercely refusing to accept anything less from those around you. Taking care of yourself means finding a balance between all things : work, play, exploration, rest, learning, ritual, relationships, family, solitude. Taking care of yourself means consciously cultivating the life you live. This life is yours for the living, please please make sure you do.

p.s today’s images are from a trip i took into the forest with the intention of getting away from all the distractions that stopped me taking care of myself. take them as your reminder to seek moments of peace whenever you can, they’re good for the soul <3

if you want to hear more about my journey towards a more authentic existence, follow me on instagram @the.authenticity.project and on medium . see my photography work on instagram @s.ophiea.lice and connect with me on linkedin.

big love to you all x