Tag: Self-Care

Lying Fallow

In the tumult of today’s world, I need to quiet my soul, to stop the gerbil-on-the-wheel thoughts that invade my mind and keep me agitated and upset. I need to lie fallow for a while, to rest in the deep knowing that I am held and that I am worthy whether or not I am doing anything or accomplishing anything. It is the ultimate self-care – to lie fallow for a while, while my roots grow deep, and I reconnect with who I am at the deepest level.

Goddess Inspired

July 15, 2022

Tagged being, Burn Out, Doing, Nurture, Self-Care

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Lying Fallow

“Sometimes a man can be a lot like a farm. He lets his heart lay fallow for a while, and instead of his feelings dying out, they just go dormant, his emotions growing deeper and stronger as time passes. A person only needs to clear away the weeds on the surface to uncover them.” — Linda Kage

This week I have felt empty, out-of-sorts, and out-of-tune. I feel like the world is closing in on all of us, and I am helpless to make a difference. I feel burned out and tired – tired of the negativity and lack of compassion that I see manifesting daily. Although it is a foolish notion, I feel the weight of the world, and my empathic self wants to be able to flip a switch that will change it.

In this kind of emotional turmoil, I need to let go. I need to allow these feelings to alchemize into something deeper, to transform into something totally different. To do that I need to allow myself to lie fallow.

In agriculture, allowing the land to lie fallow gives it an opportunity to rest and renew. So it is in humans; we must rest in order to be productive later. For me, that means allowing myself to just be while doing the things that nurture my soul. Walking, painting, journaling, meditating, conversations with friends, even mindless video games, can allow my brain to rest or to be engaged in a new way. These things feed me and fill me up. They energize me and allow me to escape the circular thoughts that keep me trapped in my head.

I know that I am not the only one who is feeling the daily negativity. I know that I am not the only one who is feeling helpless to make a difference. While I know that I am more than this body and these thoughts, it is easy to forget that I am not alone, that there is a Source who upholds me even during the worst of times. It is easy to forget that I am enough – that I don’t have to do anything to be loved beyond measure.

Barbara Garland
July 2020

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

TICK-TOCK

What would happen if I could believe the idea that time is a human construct? What if I believed that in the eternal scheme of things, I have all the time I need, whether in this life or the next?

Goddess Inspired

February 4, 2022

Tagged Divine Time, Grace, Relaxation, Self-Care, Time

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TICK-TOCK

This morning, as I look out over a cold, snowy landscape, I realize that all I want to do is wrap up in a blanket with a cup of something hot in my hands. I don’t want to DO anything, including writing this blog. Many of my readers are probably snowed in and feeling the winter blah’s just like I am.

So why is it so hard to take a day for myself? What is it about me and my world that it is an imperative to always be productive? One of the cards I drew this week was “Tick-Tock.” The illustration is a picture of hands holding a pocket watch, which is attached to a hot air balloon. The numbers are flying off the watch. Just looking at that picture makes me feel hurried and behind. The clock is ticking; things are in disarray; I don’t ever have enough time; and time is of the essence.

Of course, time is of the essence for me. I am 73 years old, and there is a lot less time in front of me than behind me. I need to be deliberate in how I spend my time and not waste any of it. If I am to write a book or make a difference before I die, I need to get on with it.

And yet there are times like today, that I don’t want to DO anything. I want to curl up with a book or with a cup of tea. I want to play a computer game or sit and stare out of the window. I don’t want to hurry. I don’t want to do anything constructive.

I recently read a quote by Bertrand Russell which said, “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” For those of us living in the go, go, go culture of the United States, that is a very hard concept to embody. It is engrained in my psyche that I must always be productive. Tick-Tock – the clock is always ticking. Time rules. Everything is on a schedule. I must never be late. I must always have something to show for my time.

What would happen if I could believe the idea that time is a human construct? What if I believed that in the eternal scheme of things, I have all the time I need, whether in this life or the next? I probably won’t learn everything I need to learn in this one lifetime, but I will have other lifetimes to get there and other times to figure it out.

I am not saying that I need to ignore deadlines, be chronically late, or no longer be productive. I am saying that giving myself time to play, to relax, or to take a mental health day is okay in the grand scheme of things. I am enough. I can be myself. I can rest. I can play. I can enjoy the beautiful moments of a snow day without guilt. I don’t have to DO to be worthy and valuable. I can enjoy that steaming cup of tea before I get on with my day.

Tick-Tock doesn’t have to mean hurry, hurry, hurry. It can mean immeasurable, Divine time in which everything has a season and shows up exactly when I need it. It is okay today to relax into that knowing and have a cup of tea. I hope you give yourself the grace to join me.

Barbara Garland
February, 2022

A Moment for Self-Care

Sometimes I need to give myself the grace that I readily give to others.

Goddess Inspired

October 30, 2021

Tagged compassion, empathy, Self-Care

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A Moment for Self-Care

This has been an extremely busy week with lots of events, most of which have entailed cooking and cleaning on my part. As a deliberate piece of self-care, I decided to put off writing my blog until today. I am a recovering perfectionist who is fanatic about making deadlines (even self-imposed ones). I have a hard time letting go and giving myself permission to be LATE. However, in the interest of practicing what I preach, I decided that one day, two days, even a week would not be an issue in the grand scheme of things.

Surprisingly, the world did not end. I did not feel terribly guilty, and my other obligations were easier to fulfill. So it is with the world – sometimes I can’t do everything. Sometimes my best-laid plans get smashed. Sometimes it is all I can do to put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes I need to give myself the grace that I readily give to others.

For these times, the best I can do is to prioritize my most pressing tasks and let the others take a back seat. In so doing I also need to realize that sometimes the most important task is to take care of myself.

Women are bombarded with the message that everyone else comes first, and it is our job to take care of everyone and everything – perfectly, all the time. However, unless I take care of myself, it is impossible to care for others. If I don’t care for myself, I become tired and worn out. I become resentful. I may even become ill or depressed. I am not my best self if I don’t take care of myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

It is okay that this week’s blog is a little late and not as lengthy as usual. It is okay that I skip next week’s blog because I will be vacationing with friends. It is okay to allow myself to relax and take break, knowing that I will come back refreshed and renewed, ready to be inspired by God/dess. Today I am breathing deeply and taking care of myself. Won’t you join me.

Acts of Kindness

Some of the most important acts of kindness are those you give yourself.

Goddess Inspired

May 4, 2021

Tagged Kindness, love, Nurture, Perfectionism, Self-Care

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Acts of Kindness

As a woman of a certain age, I carry a lot of baggage around the idea of nurturing and caring for others. In my life, it has always been the role and the responsibility of the women in the family to do the bulk of caretaking and nurturing. Not only should I take care of all the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of the family, I should do it perfectly. I should be able to fix everything,

Certainly a lot of my contemporaries struggle with the same issue. We feel guilty and wrong when we take care of ourselves, or when we ask for help. We assume that we are the only ones who can do things right, so we attempt to do everything ourselves. Then we long to run away to someplace where there is no one to make any more demands on our time or energy. We beat ourselves up when we are tired, cranky, or out of sorts. We speak negatively to ourselves in ways that we would never speak to others. We blame ourselves for everything that goes wrong. In short, we take on the responsibility for the world and blame ourselves when we can’t carry the load.

So what would happen if we were as kind to ourselves as we are to others? What would happen if we rested when we were tired, if we asked for help when we needed it, if we gave ourselves permission to be less than perfect? What would happen if we took time alone to recharge our souls? What would happen if we gave ourselves credit for the good things we have done and let the bad things go? What would happen if we quit the negative self-talk and began to give ourselves “atta girls” for the efforts we have made? What would happen if we treated ourselves as well as we treat others?

So just for today I am going to be kind to myself. I am going to give myself the gift of time for myself, if it is only five minutes of focusing on my Soul. I am going to quit blaming myself for things that are out of my control. I am not going to beat myself up internally or call myself names when I don’t do something perfectly. I am going to forget the shoulds and focus on the I want to’s. I am going to love myself, for it is only when I love myself that I can truly love others.

About

New blogs will be added to this post every Friday.

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About Me

I am a seeker of truth, a truth teller, a lover of the Divine Feminine, an aspiring writer, a mystery, an open book, a work in progress. I have lived a long and varied life, and now in my seventies, I am being called to share some of what I have learned over the years. I hope to share the wisdom of the deep Feminine that is being channeled through me.

If the Goddess has ever whispered to you, I invite you to join me on an incredible journey of love and discovery. May you hear Her wisdom through these words.

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