by Kathryn Jane
Something we all, yep ALL, need to pay attention to no matter what our circumstances, is self-care.
We live in a world brimming with information, watching bad news from around the world, and being exposed to a great deal of negativity minute by minute. In some ways this is good as we can see that in the grand scheme of things, a roof over our heads and food on our tables puts us among the fortunate.
Still, there is pressure. Pressure to be the best we can be at our jobs, and within our families. Employers and family need us, depend on us in every possible way. We can’t let them down. But apparently, we are letting ourselves down.
We stay late at work without extra pay, we stay up long past bedtime doing laundry, and we get up earlier than the rest so we can prep lunches. We eat the burnt toast, the stale crust, and the smallest portion of desert.
We are super-women, and we shine at it.
Until.
Until the tank is suddenly empty and we don’t know how it happened.
Until we find ourselves at the wrong place to pick up a kid, in the wrong chat group to vent about our boss, or getting pulled over for speeding through a playground zone—because our thoughts were somewhere else.
Until we’re tossing and turning at three in the morning unable to shut our minds down so we can sleep.
Time for some self care.
Sure, right, okay, but how the heck can we combat the burnout if we can’t give up any of our responsibilities?
Self … care.
Which means?
Many things.
Self-care can be getting a massage once a month, , stopping for an ice-cream, dancing to a favorite song, or taking ten minutes every day to just sit in the garden and do nothing.
Or it can be as simple and silly as a game I started for myself the other day.
What if.
What if a genie popped out of a bottle and granted me one very specific wish which was:
You have up to 3 days to enjoy a single experience as long as it is not about meeting or talking to someone… as part of the wish, you will be granted whatever physical ability you will need.
Here’s a list of ideas I built for myself in about ten minutes.
- Ride in the Kentucky Derby or the Grand National
- Go on an African safari
- Swim with whales
- Interact with lions or tigers in their natural habitat
- Attend a Streisand concert
- Hike Machu Picchu
- Attend the Edinburgh Tattoo
And this is a list I built while trying to guess what my friends would choose:
- A Broadway show
- A Paris fashion show
- Climb Mount Everest
- A Vegas show
- The Great Wall of China
- The Pyramids
- Superbowl
- Olympics
- Ski the Alps
- A French Chateau
- A Scottish Castle
- Desert Island
- Great Barrier Reef
So… how about you? Join in my little self-care game and share what you might choose if my genie granted you the same wish.
Kathryn Jane, novelist, artist, educator.
Kat loves crisp sunny days, the warm
breath of a horse, cats with a sense of humor, the briny scent of the ocean, and her very own charming prince—in no particular order. http://kathrynjane.com
Want to know what else I’m up to in my life? The books, the painted rocks, the workshops? Click here to visit my website.
Word by Word 
Reblogged this on Mystery and Romance.
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Reblogged this on Jacquie Biggar-USA Today Best-selling author and commented:
Kathryn Jane poses an interesting question on the Sisterhood of Suspense #blog today. Stop by and share your thoughts, we’d love to hear from you 🙂
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Great post! If I had three days to do ANYTHING 🙂 it would have to be hang-gliding in Hawaii. I’ve always dreamed of living there and I’m fascinated by hang-gliders, even though I’d be petrified to try it myself!
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Fantastic idea! Ten years ago it would have been on my list, but since I took it off my real bucket list a few years ago because I’m no longer “athletic,” it didn’t cross my mind… I’d best add it back on to my “genie” list now 😀
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I had enough of just about everything today, so I downed tools (mainly the computer) and went out into the garden. An hour later, parts of my garden were a lot tidier than before, and I felt so much better for it…
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Perfect! 🙂
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Love this and want to go to Machu Pichu so badly. Read an article the site is flooded with tourists now. Going to Edinburg next year.
To regenerate, I read or stitch. Takes my mind away and I’m happier. Reading has always been my best friend.
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Oh Edinburgh! I spent about three months working on plans to go in 2015, and then had to abandon them. One day I’ll get there. And Machu Pichu is another that I really really want to do 😀
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Hey, Kathryn. What a great post. You’re so right about all the negativity and bad stuff in the news. Too much and you can begin to believe we’re in the “end times.” Which I don’t believe,but you get the idea. I’m fortunate to get a massage almost monthly,.Really helpful with stress and arthritis. I have a couple of ways to unwind. One is gazing out our windows at our lake. (Mostly, it’s been too hot to be outside.) And then, I really love to watch Hallmark Murders & Mysteries. They always end well, and I love seeing the actors interchanged in the different shows. Of course, reading a good book is always an option. And Pilates. I always feel better when I walk out than when I walked in. If the fairy asked me, I say, let me be in a musical. 🙂
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IN a musical… That is such a cool idea! And I envy you your massages. When I worked in emergency dispatch, part of our benefit package was unlimited massages (which I truly needed for survival of 12 hour shifts filled with tension). Now I can only afford a few a year, but cherish them ❤
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Excellent post…one many of us (especially women) need to reread several times. 🙂
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Thank you, Joanne!
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Visit BC’s valley of the horses, and our own version of the Seregetti which I honestly didn’t know existed until last week. I have a massage weekly and physiotherapy too which is wonderful but feels like work right now. So I think I’d visit a certain spa in Sidney and get Teryl to give me a facial then have a manicure and pedicure done.
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