“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” – Audre Lorde
Last year See Jane Write almost killed me.
I put so much time and effort into building See Jane Write into a business — while still teaching full time and taking care of family matters — that I often sacrificed sleeping, eating, and exercising for the sake of work.
And, of course, I got sick. Very sick. My body is still healing from all the damage done. But I’ve promised my body I will never hurt it that way again.
This year I promise to take care of myself and I’ve realized that to do so is a feminist act.
So often we women take care of everyone else before we tend to ourselves. We’re taught, from an early age, that this is the right thing to do. To do otherwise is selfish.
But in 2016, I reject this. As poet Audre Lorde once said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” In 2016 I’m going to wear those words like armor and I resolve to take care of myself by all means necessary.
Here are my self-care resolutions for 2016:
I resolve to begin each day with prayer and study of Scripture.
I resolve to write freely in my journal every day.
I resolve to exercise six days each week.
I resolve to treat my body as a temple by fueling it with healthful foods.
I resolve to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.
I resolve to get more sleep.
I resolve to get a professional massage once a month.
I resolve to spend time with a close girlfriend each week because nothing energizes me like an intimate conversation with another woman.
What are your self-care resolutions for 2016?