A No-BS Self Care List for the Revolution
I have some thoughts about ‘self care’ as an industry, a trend, an internet buzzword, friends.
I’ve been considering the ways I’ve been taking care of myself during this pandemic, being stuck away from home, being unable to travel like I had hoped and planned for this year and finally for this global revolution and social climate. And thus thinking about what ‘self care’ means to me as an individual, minus the fluff.
Here are some conclusions I came to re: effective self care for restoration and joy as well as growth and development. When you care about something or someone, you want them to be happy and also to be better, n’est-ce pas?
What is ‘self-care’ anyway?
Here’s a dictionary definition of self care:
1. The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health.
1.1 The practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.
(from Lexico.com)
I understand it as filling one’s own cup, being honest with yourself, giving yourself space to mess up. Recognizing that you can change and evolve. Staying in the present. Doing what came naturally to you as a child. Keeping what serves you and eliminating what doesn’t.
Self Care tips and Ideas
For me lately:
1.I’ve been cooking a lot.
Mainly plant-based for my health and my budget. Also to see if my hormonal acne (all over my cheeks and jawline, all the time) will improve with no animal products in my diet.
2. Meditating daily.
As soon as i wake up. Sometimes guided. Sometimes with soft binaural beats. Sometimes silent. I just set a timer for 10 or 20 minutes and listen to my own breathing or to the most distant sounds around me (lots of birds where I am now). When my mind drifts (and it does A LOT) I just bring it back to the breath.
Here are some of my favourite guided meditations by: Black Girl in Om, Amber Khan of the Quietest Revolution and Sapna Chandaria of Soulful Living (skip to 25:15 on Sapna’s video).
3. Checking on people - actually calling friends and family on the phone.
This one is new. But I’ve been in Uganda for 4 months now, longer than planned, and my friends and family are not with me. Even some of the friends I made here headed home before the lockdown and border/airport closures.
So to let people know I’m thinking of them, I (text first) and give them a call just to chat about what we’re watching lately, funny memes, memories, whatever.
Of course moving your body is key as well, my movement of choice is yoga and 30-60 minute walks daily
Also read: Tips for Staying Alive and Healthy While Traveling
And then there are the not-so-obvious things. The things that require more effort and you might struggle to do or sustain at first.
Holistic Self Care
4. Evaluating the intentions behind life choices
Everyone these past months: “You can’t travel, aren’t you just dying?”
Actually, no.
It’s been a wonderful opportunity for me personally to stop and consider what my love for travel is actually leading me towards. To think and feel outside of autopilot. To consider WHY I travel at all. Which for me is to educate myself and to connect people of Africa and its diasporas with each other through language, mythologies/stories, music and more.
Lola Akinmade Akerstrom put it beautifully in this article about what to do now that travel as we know it has been stalled.
5. Getting rid of hive mind/herd mentality
Thinking for yourself is getting harder and harder, particularly with the media and information free-for-all on the internet.
It might seem obvious but pause before jumping on the bandwagon and praising or bashing something, before sharing that article that you haven’t read yet, before donating to a fund or cause that you haven’t researched to make sure your money is being accounted for and reaching the people it needs to help.
See my below recent Instagram posts for some thoughts on neo-colonialism, white supremacy and Black rights the world over.
6. Create > Consume
I’ve said it once, i’ll say it again. Create through cooking, writing, painting, building, growing plants or food, the list is endless. You can create safe and happy spaces for you and your loved ones, even.
When you do watch/read/consume something, ask yourself: is this inspiring me? Is it teaching me? Is it bringing me true joy and not just distracting me? Is it true?
7. Not everyday capitalism.
Hobbies separate from work/money are important.
Another one that feels obvious but can be harder than you thought, especially now in the work-from-home, capitalist, volatile economy that we live in. Glorifying the hustle is killing people. Do something fun because it’s fun.
If you don’t have an answer for “what do you do for fun'“, think back to what you naturally liked as a child and start there.
8. Considering what I don’t like and can’t accept
There may be things in your life, your environment and the world at large that you don’t like. Or at least they are not your ideal situation(s). How often do you consider how much of a role you play in that and what active steps you’ve taken to change them?
If you’ve done nothing to change injustices you know of, if you hold on to harmful or time-wasting habits in your personal and professional life, addressing that is self care.
I like to keep journals so I can keep looking back at where I have been in past weeks, months and years, see what issues I keep bumping into or complaining about and identify recurring behavior (or reactions) of my own that I do have the power to change.
So far that’s what I’ve come up with!
I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how you practice holistic, no-BS self care in your own life.
Keep in touch and share this with someone who needs it!
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J.
xx