Be Kind to Yourself

It's Sunday night and I'm sitting at my desk, hand to my head, wondering what the heck I'm supposed to write about. I've been opening my computer all week, sitting on this page, and my muse has been nowhere to be found. Tonight I finally cleaned off the table and started a puzzle, looking for a little inspiration. You know I'm desperate when I start a puzzle.

It finally hit me - World Kindness Day was Saturday, November 13. I'm going to talk about some ways I'm kind to myself, and maybe you can get some ideas for yourself.

A big way I'm kind to myself is my writing. I journal almost everyday. Even if it's about how I'm "just" doing laundry or how frustrated I am doing dishes...again...I put something down on paper. Many times, those insignificant musings will transform into deeper feelings, and word puke will come out, filling pages of my journal. Now, I'm very lucky. I feel I can trust everyone in my household not to read what I'm writing. I have no need to hide my journal. I understand that some of you don't have the same pleasure. For you, I say, dictate it into your notes on your phone, and then lock those notes.

I'm still working on my short stories and novellas. Sometimes it doesn't feel like working on them is being kind to myself. It feels like work. When I came back from my writing workshop, working on those items was fun - I felt inspired. Then life happened. I have all the appointments from the accident. I'm constantly busy. The only time I seem to have to write is late at night. It wasn't fun anymore. I took advice and started carrying around writing notebooks. Even the little spurts of time I had to write in the notebooks, I found myself closing my eyes and taking quick naps.

I've been taking my walks still, although now it's cold out! I've decided that when I'm having my appointments, I'm going to walk the mall since I'll be in the area. After walking our road this past Friday and freezing from the wind, I decided that was my last outside-walking day. Exercise is a good way to be kind to myself. It makes me feel relaxed and energized all at the same time. I feel I can deal with anything life has to throw at me.

Listening to music is another way I'm kind to myself. There's nothing like a good playlist to get a person going. I keep adding to my "liked" songs on Spotify. Of course, I have the premium subscription, because who the heck likes listening to commercials or not being able to skip through songs? Here's a current shot of my playlist with the most recent songs I've added:

I also subscribe to an app called Headspace, which I highly recommend. It's a meditation app I use every night to help me sleep, although it has meditations for feeling overwhelmed, pain management, letting go of stress, acceptance, fear of the future, and so many others. I pay by the year, and it is so worth the money. Here's a screenshot of some of the nighttime meditations that I use:

I think one of the biggest ways of being kind to yourself is to forgive yourself. I've made many mistakes in my life. If I didn't forgive myself for them, I'd be a hot mess of regret and misery. Therapy helped me. I've moved on from many of the things I've done. I've owned up to the mistakes I've made, apologized for them, and try not to repeat them. Some things are just who I am as a person, and I try to be a better person. I'm actually on a medication to curb my impulsive tendencies. It works most of the time.

I hope you can be kind to yourself today. Some days are harder than others, obviously. When you're having a hard day, reach out to someone. It may be a hard thing to do, but it's worthwhile - there are people who love you. It took me a long time to learn that, but I do know that now.

Until next week's dirt...