Supporting The Structure
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has been declared one of the wonders of the modern world. The bridge constructed in 1933 is considered a national historic site. It stands 746 ft. High and is 1.7 miles long and six lanes wide. It is a suspension bridge designed to withstand seismic activity within the region, support 112,000 cars daily, walking pedestrians, bicycles. The lands and water under and around the bridge have become home to a variety of wildlife. Supporting this mighty structure requires daily maintenance that starts at the beginning of the year at one end, finishing up at the opposite of the year’s end. This cycle of care taking an entire year to complete only to start over again comes at the cost of about $65 million per year. It’s value, maintenance and expense are an essential lifeline in the many years it has provided flow from San Francisco to all points north.
Humans are no different from the many stable structures that require a regular priority of maintenance and care. Why is our self-care so important? We, humans, are an integral part of a whole. When our vessel is empty, we cannot pour into that the whole. As a part of the whole, we too are meant to be honored in the process of experiencing the joy the flows from a full vessel. Life is cyclical; we start, maintain, finish, and start again. Maintaining optimal functioning throughout life’s cycles requires providing the necessary support for taking good care to preserve and ensure the original condition of our human asset.
What is Self Care? Self-care is not being selfish; it is quite the contrary. It is to see the value in taking of yourself as a part of a more massive operating structure. What effects and impacts you trickle onto all. You can not show up and be your very best when you are anxious or overstressed. You cannot experience the personal joy of existing in the space of love when there is a disconnect from the heart or living your ”why” while remaining in self-doubt.
There is a synergy to life, and in self-care, each part feeds off all the others making that whole greater than the sum of its individual parts. When we find the value in a structure well maintained, we are selflessly showing up for ourselves first, and then we can have the capacity for showing up in the highest way for the whole of humanity.
Self Care Elevation
1. Self Care is any activity that is done with the intention of taking care of our own mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health? True or False?
2. There are many moving parts of the whole. Am I caring for the different aspects of my well-being?
Emotional
Vocation
Intellectual
Physical
Social
Occupational
Spiritual
Environmental
Financial
3. Does the idea of self-care feel selfish or indulgent?
4. Do I recognize when I am feeling depleted?
5. Can I list 3 things that bring me joy?
6. How often am I dedicating time for those things?
7. Do I honor myself and the personal goals that I have set for myself?
8. List one new something or area of self I would like to explore.
9. Are there any areas of my life that I am feeling stuck and wish to gain momentum?
10. Do I place value on taking care of the various aspects of my overall well-being?
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
11. Do I listen to my intuitive GPS?
12. Do I hold myself accountable for my personal well-being?
As a holistic self-care coach, my goal is to assist you in the heart centered discovery of your most joyful self. We do that by establishing first where you might be out of alignment and then by collaboratively creating integrative personal goals of self care for maintaining that beautiful, strong, healthy human structure that allows you to be your individual and collective best.
Love Thy Self!
XO Donna
