It wasn’t so long ago that i would have laughed myself out of town at the idea of early bed-times, choosing not to go out with a group of people, or spending time washing dishes on a Saturday night.  Okay.  i’ll amend that. i STILL have a hard time accepting these things as good decisions and not signs that i’m going to turn into a spinster cat-lady, gah.
And yet, i’ve been lying on my couch, semi-napping, trying to psych myself up to go out for the night (for the second night in a row), and slowly realizing that i’m fighting the very things that i long for when i’m at work – rest, peace, processes that have visible results…

Attending a suicide intervention training for the last few days, i was part of a group of people that discussed the idea of self-care in the helping role/profession.  A lot of similarities cropped up in people’s responses: conversations with a friend, coffee dates, baths, wine, movies, exercise, getting enough sleep.  Reflecting back on the lists, it surprises me how introverted the lists seemed.  Not once did i see ‘night on the town’ or ‘throw a party’ on any of the group’s self-care lists, and it makes me curious about why that was.  Very possibly, it was just the certain mix of attendees, though perhaps there is something about self or soul-care that necessitates the quietness of being either peacefully alone or in meaningful or intimate relationship instead of exuberant crowds and dynamic social settings.  At this moment, my bias is towards the latter.

As much as it still annoys me on some level to choose against getting some also-much-needed social time tonight, i’m going to admit that these are a few of my favorite self-care things right now:

drawing, sleeping, comfort food, making things…

Nothing so very different from the rest of life, just chosen over friends and a social life at this moment.

What do you do to rest/revive?