For all the talk of self care and love out there you
aren’t really given ways to accomplish this in a
life that so over packed for most.
Demands made by work, children, significant others, broader family members, pets, all you have to do…
Those are all real things that can’t be ignored and pushed aside.
We all need a helping hand some days.
In truth while getting a mani and pedi or a haircut might make you feel better they are still an attempt at buying self love and care. That may make you slow down for a second but they are superficial at best. At best they distract from it all for a short time.
Here is a place to start with relaxation
Does this truly honor my body? How do I do this?
Where can I bring in love, care, and honor when I feel there’s no control of my body, life, whatever it is for you?
How do you do this in the 21st century when you are still encouraged to deny and push on through? Push harder, make it work…
It does not work.
For me it is the body and peri-menopause of not being able to do much or go somewhere as I am bleeding heavily with clots. Where is the room for this process in the work force? There is no room for it.
I am lucky to work at home for myself. It is me who set the deadlines. Sets the work times. But for those who do not have this luxury there is no honor for the body.
There is no room for self love and care because there is very little support for womxn.
You can’t do it all and honor the body.
It is impossible.
How can we as womxn create this in society when we are not seen as full members of it?
Snakes have been prodding me gently along lately. You know those online quizzes you can take and they tell you what animal ally you are or what era you are. Well I got snake on the ally one and for whatever reason felt very resistant about it. I didn’t want a snake for an ally. I wanted something better? What that was, I have no idea. Snake was not me.
Not long before this I was running away from the Death card too. It just kept showing up again and again. And I kept not dealing with it again and again. Finally the smarter part of me kicked in and said, just let the three card spread with Death in it sit out for a day.
While Death still kept coming up the difference was that I acknowledged it and let it do it’s work. Why was I avoiding change? That was really the big question. Change is often terrifying and there is so much of it happening already in my life that it’s been more than a bit overwhelming. I was not where I wanted to be. Why not change and make a proper job of it . Once I acknowledged Death, it released the flow and it no longer felt like I was swimming up stream.
Which leads me back to the snake totem. Firstly I reminded myself that I got sorted into Slytherin ( more than once) whose emblem is a snake. (Harry Potter is such a wonderful modern mythology, love it.) Why was I afraid of a snake totem? There was a dead snake along the side of the road who I named Snakey.
Now every time I walked by Snakey I felt drawn to take him home. So I stopped avoiding my snake totem and decided to embrace it. Once again I felt things fall into place and became more open. On my next walk I grabbed a plastic bag and a medical glove and brought Snakey home. He is still in the garden finishing up the decaying process. I shall be keeping Snakey’s bones.
It turns out my tarot card for the year is 13, Death. The enormity of the changes that are occurring have made it a tumultuous year so far. But the more I just let it flow there is more ease. Resistant is futile to quote the Borg. It truly is when dealing with change. Even if you try to ignore it you still change. Change always wins in the end.
