I was brought up short this morning when listening to the Healthy Minds app. In today’s piece, Jay Vidarthi said, “It’s important to carve out small moments in your day to check in with yourself.” And I found myself lost in thinking, of course, it’s important, I make it a part of my daily routine and share it with others in aspects of my work. And yet, I don’t often reexamine why it’s important. That’s what caught my attention.

I developed my daily meditation and art-making routines (to bookend my days) for a reason. These habits serve me well—I begin my days in a (generally) chill place and cultivate my creativity and learning in a very hands-on way before day’s end. Yet I felt a tug, a need, to re-explore why I practice these habits of self-care, to bring them to the surface and consciously point out their importance to me.

I started wondering if I were more conscious about these practices, taking them out of their smooth integration in my life, and lifting them up, that I might benefit more. Seeing myself engage in active self-care would be a reminder that, during these turbulent times in my country and the “close to the brim” busy times in my work and personal worlds, I am more consciously engaged in my life.

Thinking about why self-care is important brought me back to awareness, re-viewing and refining my thinking. The process lifted up my purpose, which wasn’t lost yet had become every day/ordinary for me… not a “bad” thing, yet I prefer to be more aware.

I want to be more conscious of how I allocate my precious time and ensure that it reflects my values and serves me. (If you’re looking for a fabulous resource for exploring/re-exploring and naming your values, try The Live Your Values Deck, by Andreea Niculescu and illustrated by Lisa Congdon. What a joy to work with —alone or with a buddy.)

What about you? What are your daily habits?

While my focus is on self-care, at this moment, the question is a good one to ponder about all the habits in our lives… getting in touch with why we do, what we do.

What routines serve you as they are?

Which could use a bit of shaking up/change, or even letting go? What would that be like? Can you imagine it?

How might your practices serve you (and perhaps others) even better?

I’d love to hear your thinking.

And, if you’re interested in experiencing an out-of-the-ordinary self-care practice, join me this Saturday for Experience the Alchemy of Nature, Ritual, and Creativity… Bring a question that’s on your mind, something that’s heavy on your heart, or work with one of the prompts that I offer during a workshop where we engage in reflection and creation with elements of nature as our medium (or goodies from your spice cabinet or studio—as the weather doesn’t always permit working comfortably outside). If I have piqued your interest, learn more here. And reach out to me with your questions.