Self – Care – You’ve got a friend

Carole King wasn’t just whistling Dixie when she wrote that song! You have a friend…a very good friend…it’s your magnificent body. Even that lesser-known songwriter Buddha talked about the preciousness of our bodies. There’s no getting around it…we are walking around in a treasure. 

So if you can treat your body like you would treat a good friend – listening to it, taking it out for a good meal once in a while, – really showing you care, then you will be fulfilling one important part of Self-Care. 

And that is fantastic, but today I want to talk with you about another important part – The Mind. 

Sometimes our mind can really gum up the works…in fact it can be brutal…not friendly at all. It can tell you you’re not good enough – there’s no point heading for the gym – you’ll never look like Kate Moss or Brad Pitt or whoever you think is some kind of ideal. Or it can take you down the rabbit hole of distraction…taking your focus away from what you know you need to stay balanced. 

Focus is what your mind needs….and like any other skill, it takes practice to learn how to focus that mind of yours. You know what I mean! It loves to be pulled off in so many directions…bouncing into negative thoughts, ruminating over past events, fixating on what might have been, instead of relishing the present moment. We have to learn to work with the mind , so that it’s not turning its incredible power against us. 

A focussed mind is a huge part of that vehicle that’s going to transport you to Freedom Mountain – you might have a well-tuned Maserati, but if you haven’t go any fuel in the tank, you’re just a beautiful object in a showroom. The fuel you need is a focused mind. 

By the way, I just want to remind you something about Freedom Mountain (which you already know, but I think a reminder can be a beautiful thing…like the chorus of a song…it comes round again…and again.) Freedom Mountain is whatever your particular freedom feels like to you – not my idea of freedom, or your neighbour’s or the guy on the nightly news.

It’s what feels like the place you want to get to…your bit of heaven.

Let’s go back a few beats…there you are – a young scallywag…starting off in life and after a lot of ups and downs maybe you manage to get things together – some education, a little money, a relationship, maybe a child or two, a car in the garage…and life looks pretty peachy, until one day …it doesn’t. You wake up one morning and think…something’s missing. After tossing and turning a while, too little sleep and too many bourbons, you might realize (if you’re lucky!)…it’s depth…that’s what’s missing. 

“I always thought my life would be deeper.” Hallelujah! You’ve come to an essential truth. You see, those ups and downs helped shape you…even though you thought sometimes they were going to seriously maim you – they were shaping the person you are becoming. But now, on that fateful morning, you realized you need something more….you want to take that shape and aim it somewhere. And now the journey begins…you know the one – the Hero/ Heroine’s Journey toward Freedom Mountain!

I did it myself, so I know those hills and valleys, and living the so-called dream and then the sobering wake-up call from the depths of your soul. It sounds poetic but for me, it was more like getting hit with a wet cod upside my head! 

When I think about it, you actually have two best friends – your amazing body and your beautiful mind….both of which need nurturing, attention and loving focus. It’s worth it because it’s your vehicle – your way to find the depth that’s been calling to you. 

You’re on your way!