It’s a rainy day here in NYC. Typical Spring weather. April showers bring May flowers and all that jazz.
For some of us, rain brings us down. We want to stay in bed, keep warm under the covers and wait for the sun to shine again. But, we can’t. We can’t just hide.
Because there are bills to pay, families to take care of and work to be done. People and things that pull our attention.
The title for this post came from a tweet I sent to one of my pals who was feeling down. She’s been battling significant medical problems and now is dealing with an insurance provider who won’t pay for services. (It’s horrible how people with chronic medical problems have to fight for the services they need to stay alive and healthy. But, I digress.)
She needed and asked for a pick-me-up. If you follow me on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram), you already know that I love sharing quotes and posts to increase joy, elevate mood and uplift the spirit. Because it’s self-care. And because I can’t STAND to see people suffering. So I sent her the mantra below. (Note: Edited for her privacy.)
Spoken from my heart, because that’s the reality of life. There are times when life gets us so stressed out, frustrated, vulnerable and depressed. So much that it’s hard to see the good things, the blessings we have and believe that things will get better.
See, the thing is rainbows DO follow the rain. We can’t enjoy the good stuff if we don’t have the bad things to teach us how to appreciate the good things we have.
And as busy working moms, that’s exactly how life can be. We’ve gone to college, developed our careers, established a family with our partner. Hit those wonderful expectations that have been passed down to us by our own families growing up or by society at large. We push ourselves to the edge of our sanity to meet all the demands that are placed on us. Staying late at work at the last minute, worrying about the chores that need to get done at home or losing sleep because we just can’t slow or shut down our brains.
This is where self-care can help. Using mantras like the one above, taking 5 minutes to meditate or write, self-care is the thing that can reduce stress, uplift us and give us that energy to keep going. To be gentle with ourselves throughout the day so that we can show up as the best of who we are for other people – while also caring for ourselves.
Because – real talk – you’re not a robot. You’re an amazing human being who has grown other humans, given of yourself to help others and worked to get things done. And you just like your kids, spouse and all other humans, you DESERVE and NEED self-care.
A car can’t run without gas or regular maintenance. And neither can you. Daily self-care – even 5 minutes at a time – can help you maintain your physical, emotional and mental well-being so you can be the person you want to be.
Today, if you’re feeling down because of the rain (or any other stress) remember, rainbows follow the rain. Things WILL get better. Believe it!
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Heiddi Zalamar 