Each new day is another opportunity to take a chance to do something good for ourselves and others. When I think about creating a community of self care I envision this vibrant place where everyone is able to participate in endless hours of activities of their choosing either individually, with friends, family members, and the like. I picture only positive interactions and emotions, it is so beautiful.
However, this is not the reality in our lives, so the importance of creating a community of self care is huge! This is also not an easy thing to achieve with all of the responsibilities and stress that we carry with us day to day. Each responsibility takes away time from when we can be engaging in self care. So how do we shift our culture to support more time and space to engage in things to benefit our mind, bodies, and souls? I believe the first step is making a commitment to one’s self that you will participate in self care, even if it is for 15 minutes a day. Next step? Support others in their efforts of self care. If we all take one small step in the right direction others will follow and we will all benefit.
I was able to see this in action on our campuses a few weeks back when we brought Anchorage Wellness Group onto two of the campuses to provide free chair massages for our incredible staff. People flocked to this act of self care and as people came into the rooms reserved for this opportunity I could see people excited to participate in some self care while at work, a chance that we don’t get often. I also noticed that this gave people the chance to interact with co-workers that they may not get the chance to every day. Throughout the day the energy in the room continued to grow and expand in a very positive way as people reported feeling relaxed, energized, happy, and maybe a bit ready for a nap. It was very inspiring to me!
Overall, this was just one example of a way that we can work together to create more instances of self care for ourselves and others. I hope that each day when you wake up, and come to work, that you take just a few moments to assist us in creating a community of self care in our workplace so that we are all a little more fulfilled mentally, physically, and emotionally. And please remember “You cannot pour from an empty cup, take care of yourself first”. Creating a community of self care in our personal lives and workplace will have a direct affect on those we interact with and those that we serve.
