Every June 7 marks another anniversary for the Journal. This is our fourth.
Of all the more than one thousand messages we have written to caregivers, self-care is the most important. Without good care of the self, it impossible to give the best healing to others with any consistency.
Consistency may not be an exciting subject. But, consistent loving care is exactly what all patients need.
The number one obstacle to self care is not time. It is the well-meaning, but misplaced decision by many caregivers to choose other priorities ahead of self care and to place themselves last.
A second obstacle can be unwise choices. There's nothing inherently wrong with collapsing on the couch in front of the T.V. with a bowl of popcorn. But, if this is the only self-care you are doing, you will soon discover an exhausted soul as well as a burned out attitude.
Burn out doesn't just mean fatigue. It means loss of interest in the job. Work becomes a task instead of a calling.
Patients need our best.
How do the wisest caregivers look after themselves?
First, they make self care a priority.
Second, they pick out activities that are nurturing to body and mind as well as spirit. These choices will vary among caregivers. The key is to find the things that work best for you and that are appealing enough so that you'll do them.
Third, wise caregivers establish boundaries that will protect the time reserved for self-care. Treating self-care as a ritual, not just an occasional thing, is crucial.
Finally, good self-care requires letting go of excuses. Healthy caregivers pick their best self care choices and live them.
We know the self-care that works for us. The key is motivation.
One of the single best, and easiest, forms of self care is a thirty minute walk every day (no exceptions.) If walking seems boring, find a friend to join you, or listen to music or just to the world of your thoughts. Above all, find a way to make your daily walk fun. Eliminate all excuses and do it.
Prodding often doesn't help much. Instead, on the fourth anniversary of the Journal, I invite you to remember the happiest truth there is: You are loved. Let this Love flow into a spirit and body that are rested and cared for and your energy will reach as high as it can go.
There are ways to make self care fun & fulfilling. Have you found those ways? Are you living them?
-Erie Chapman
Journal of Sacred Work 
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