Creative ways to do self care: 3 resources for refueling

We’re big believers in using creativity to brighten our caregiving lives—like finding a new solution for an everyday challenge (for example, our #caregivinghacks), finding a way to break out of a mental or emotional rut, or finding a way to add color to the dullness of everyday tasks. Here, we’ll offer 3 creative resources to help you refuel regularly.

#1. Poetry

I find tremendous comfort and power in the written word. In fact, during my journey with breast cancer over the last few months, words have been among the most meaningful gifts I’ve received.

So for me, reading and savoring poetry—or even just choosing an inspiring quote as my daily mantra—is a form of creative self-care that really works. Poems are short. Quotes are even shorter. If I’m interrupted, it’s easy to jump back into it. And I can revisit the words throughout the day when I need a pick-me-up, or if I just want to be transported to another place.

I’ve selected a few beautifully written words that I hope will resonate with you, caregivers, and give you a few moments of peace and rest in your day.

“Mantra for anxiety:
This is not you. This is something moving through you. It can leave out of the same door it came in.”

Cleo Wade

“Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed.”

Mary Oliver, Evidence: Poems

“Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself – what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.”

Warsan Shire

“i am water

soft enough
to offer life
tough enough
to drown it away”

Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey

“…sometimes courage isn’t climbing Mount Everest or changing the world. Sometimes your mountain to climb is made up of weekdays and months, made up of pushing yourself forward even when you want to nestle into the past.

Sometimes changing the world means changing your world as gradually as you need to, as gently as you heal, because sometimes courage isn’t made up of war and bloodshed; sometimes courage isn’t made of combat.

Sometimes courage is a quiet fight, a dim softness within you, that flickers even on your darkest days and reminds you that you are strong, that you are growing—that there is hope.”

Bianca Sparacino, The Strength In Our Scars

#2. Images

Beautiful artwork. Beautiful photographs. Beautiful scenes in nature. Beautiful programs on TV or streaming on our tablets or laptops. There’s beauty all around us, and sometimes, focusing on a beautiful thing even for just a few minutes can fill our tanks. Try these simple practices below.

  • Go outside and watch the birds or admire flowers in your garden.
  • Watch a program that takes you to a place that’s on your bucket list.
  • Pick up a coffee table book with pictures that make you happy.
  • Browse through a photo album from a time in your life that you loved.
  • Have a favorite piece of artwork in your home? Imagine you’re in a museum and stand in front of it for a few minutes, taking in its beauty, admiring it, dreaming of what it would be like to jump into it (Mary Poppins style!).
  • Sit in the sun, as Eliza suggested in this recent Sunday #selfcarehack.

#3. Music

Music has the power to change the mood, to transport us to happier times, to make us move at a different speed. We use it often in our caregiving routines, but it can also be a powerful self-care tool!

Check out our newest playlist on our Spotify channel, created by Eliza with the intention of encouraging self-love—an act that often feels selfish to us caregiving types.

 

For more updates please read our best blogs for caregivers

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