Self-Care Beyond Aesthetic
Over the years I have seen self-care, so it has been something of a more visible routine to me
Waking up and applying those Face washes and creams, taking off the Face Mask ,Exfoliating those dead skins and heavy scrub for the feets, bubble baths in candle light etc.
The results? Flawless skin, glowing body, but it just didn’t feel honest to me
Over time , I started to look at how self care should go beyond how it made a woman looks, but how well it could protect a woman from preys.
I’d say other than the skin care routine and looks investments, Self-care is having to give ears to your body’s signal asking you to take a break and rest . When your body can no longer carry the to-do list,that is real SELF-CARE.
This is when all you have to do is seat back, and relax, because over productivity shouldn’t define your worth ,and you can clearly see that been exhausted and tired to the bone is not a badge to be worn.
I came start to understand and see what it truly means to care for yourself, it's the reinvention that happens, you shut people who don't deserve to be in your space out ,and make the most of your silent moments to help rebuild and reshape your overall well being. Using those quiet times are time to build and reinvent yourself, just as a butterfly would first choose to be quiet in larva stage before, coming out to show the real beauty it has achieved over time.
And then working it up and making sure that the parasite that eats you up, every time you prioritise yourself first is no longer lurking around, you've kicked it out and built so much confidence that you can now say No , to uncomfortable requests and favours that put you in tight spots instead of making you grow. Those self fish , Favours that you're asked for you now have built a self defence system to decline them without any hint of guilt over shadowing you
And if they need those mighty favours that eat into your time, it should be done out of free will, not under pressure of any kind , and once anyone around you thinks to ask you for huge favours, they're now well aware that it's something that you just decided to do for them not because they have a right to you doing favours and causing yourself inconveniences.
And when you seat in the mirror to wipe off your mascara and, every other sign of powder from your face, also take out time to let out those unwanted feelings, let them freely come out and don't try to shut your self up, but instead let those vulnerable moments come out like they are meant to come off with those eyelashes, and let yourself free, from those judgemental thoughts you have about yourself.
You have an inside meeting with yourself, but this time not as though you're the boss but that you're speaking to a child and you'd like for the child to be calm, that's how you speak to yourself in those meetings.
Don't always act like a harsh guardian seeking perfection from there ward, in your self validation meeting, instead speak like a priest speaking to a sinner and helping the person find grace and redemption, that's how you speak to your inner self.
My Dear Women, Resistance is a needed type of Self Care.
So be fearless and resist rules, norms that makes you see that's it's okay to burnout yourself, but a little pat on the back is wrong.
Norms that force you to accept stress, but doesn't want to pamper the softness in you.
Self- Care isn't about the easy things, it's those difficult torns you wash out that is the real CARE ROUTINE.