Take Time for Yourself

This week I have been relearning that it is vitally important to take time each day to focus solely on myself. It doesn’t have to be very long. Just a few minutes would suffice. And in those few moments, I felt refreshed! With all the stress from various places in my life, I have been feeling stretched too thin. Unfortunately, being stretched thin does not include my body. I’m still sitting at a size 12, and have nearly the same number of mini m&m bags, cake, ice cream and a king sized candy bar to add onto my hips after this week! I tend to emotionally eat, and goodness these past seven days have been emotional! Since I was so bogged down with work I hadn’t given taking time to myself much thought. However I happened to stumble across alone time completely on accident…

I was giddily looking forward to unwinding at home on the couch When I got home from work today, but I received a text from my husband reminding me to go over to our neighbor’s house and feed their chickens. Grudgingly, and with excessive mumbling, I pried myself out of the soft cushions of the couch, grabbed the dogs, and headed to the neighbor’s house.

After feeding the chickens, the dogs and I were on our way home to finally indulge in some over dramatic television, when I realized how beautiful it was outside. I noticed the pups seemed to be enjoying the weather just as much as I was, so we walked on past our house. We walked for about twenty minutes. We enjoyed watching the sun set behind the rugged mountain tops. The sky was lit up with brilliant pinks, purples and reds, and the calmness of the desert in the evening was intoxicating.

It felt so good to just be out there with only my thoughts and my pups. It was so peaceful and relaxing. All the stress from work melted away and I felt renewed.

I think we all need to consciously remember to think about ourselves every now and then. Many of us put ambition, service, or career above our own needs, and we just end up burning out. We are not much use to anyone if our bodies and mental state is unable to keep up with our ever increasing demands. Time must be put aside to ensure we care for ourself so we can be a blessing to those around us.

Happy Friday!