The self-care ‘diet’
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The self-care ‘diet’
Taking care of yourself is foundational and obvious for optimal health and wellbeing. Self-care extends into every area of our life.
As examples, self-care in:
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Emotional and mental wellbeing
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Sleep
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Diet
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Movement
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Relationships
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Work
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Home
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Family and community
It is very clear that self-care would be immensely supportive for all … so why are we all (in general) so terrible at it? This article will focus on one aspect of self-care to elucidate the true meaning of self-care and prove that this simple dedication to self has a universal ripple effect that supports the deepening of one’s relationship to self and all we interact with – people, nature, the cosmos.
Looking at self-care and diet – our daily food choices and all this entails:
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where and how we shop
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what we choose to put into our bodies
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how we cook
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when and how we eat
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the interconnectedness with all the people we encounter in this aspect of our lives; from the land, the farmers, the producers, the shopkeepers, the families etc.
There is a huge spectrum of potential in our relationship with food and diet – from straight out abuse, all the way to it being a truly loving aspect of our lives. Self-care is a vital part of this spectrum; a needed stepping-stone to self-love and then love. Self-care goes deeper than being honest and recognising there is a problem with our diets.
Self-care involves claiming a level of self-worth that demands a level of attention, care and detail … that is outplayed in our daily activities. It is about developing a connection with our self that develops a deeply caring perspective on life.
Self-care and our diet is not an activity based on knowing what is good for you and what is not good for you. There is NO requirement of expertise in food and nutrition to be able to ‘self-care in diet’. But as stated above, it is about worth. Simply focussing on a superficial understanding of self-care in diet – i.e. eating the ‘right’ way to support your body throughout life – will always require one to know the ‘right’ way and ends in activities of life coming from the head (knowledge). It may keep you physically healthy for some time but does not develop or deepen self-care into self-love and ultimately love, which supports a way of life that naturally commands supportive food choices, without having to think about them or set rules for yourself.
So, what’s self-worth got to do with it? As mentioned above we are (in general) as a human race very good at abusing ourselves – or said another way, quite crap at self-care; we have only to look at the out of control levels of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, relationship breakdowns, extreme behaviours, drug and alcohol use etc. to know this to be true. These end results are an accumulation of our daily choices and our daily choices reflect our connection (or lack of) to our inner being – the part that is worth honouring, that is sacred and is the same in every single one of us despite our differences on the outside. Men and women equally blossom with self-care; it is not a gen-der based thing.
If we value and have worth for our being rather than the doing, then self-care is a natural ex-pression in our lives and not about rules around food and diet.
No willpower or determination is needed to eat supportively; it is instinctual because a true self-care diet comes from the heart. A connection to self that naturally will not self-abuse.
Filed under
Self-love, Appreciation, Energy
