Learn & Grow
I've been working and living in the basement at my dad's for the last year. To get water, I have to go upstairs to the kitchen, which is not far, but I notice my mind has turned the flight of stairs between me and the water cooler into a much larger obstacle than it actually is. As a result, it's normal for me to be sitting at my desk with a long-emptied water bottle and a dry throat, waiting to finish up something before I get water.
If someone in my care described to me the level of thirst that I sometimes allow myself to feel, I know that I wouldn't hesitate for a second to get them water. I'd likely drop my task and do it right away.
Yesterday, with an empty water bottle, a minute before a work call, and a throat dehydrated af I had the thought: "why are you ignoring your body, what could be more important than this care?"
Maybe it's pushing off lunch and the signals of hunger to finish up an email or not grabbing water before a meeting. Maybe it's choosing to put off movement even though I know my body is craving it. I am definitely not a stranger to hearing my body's cries and not heeding them.
It would take a whole other post to go into the many ways we are conditioned to ignore or not trust our own bodies and the ways that this manifests.
I realized that listening is a big part of creating trust with my body and assuring it that it's loved and safe. Sometimes, this is a practice. A skill to be developed.
Part of my learning and growing right now is in the practice of gently teaching myself to notice when I'm ignoring my needs. To listen for cues and signals. I'm choosing to be curious over critical as I go about this, and I don't always achieve that, but I'm just here to learn and grow and no part of that requires perfection.
💦💦Prompt: What does it feel like to really listen to your body today?
Stay hydrated, friends 💕💕💕