How are your needs a blessing?

It seems counter intuitive at first, and may even sound selfish to those of us raised to think of others over ourselves at all cost.

But the more I keep learning to listen to what my inner spirit needs for wellbeing, the better I am able to trust that the practice of self-care ultimately does benefit others. Is this your experience, too?

Sometimes the link is direct. If your wash your hands and keep a healthy six feet of space between you and others, you are helping to prevent yourself from getting sick. Logically, if you reduce your chance of carrying and spreading the virus, you serve others as well.

What about realms other than than physical health? The beneficial impact on the greater good may be less clear, mysterious, and perhaps never clearly revealed. That’s where faith steps in.

We are in trying times, and I find myself upping and expanding longtime practices to care for my spirit. You, too? Day 11 of staying at home alone, and even though I’ve been working from home much of the last twenty years, and by nature enjoy solitude and ritual, I’m leaning heavily into the supportive practices I’ve established (thanks to The Artist’s Way and several spiritual teachers), and adding new ones.

Tuning in closely to this specific and personal question as become my go-to for self-care in uncertain times: What does my spirit need in this moment?

Blessing #1:

The practice of identifying what my inner creative spirit needs to be safe and nourished is truly a blessing because it points me in a direction. Knowing what’s needed helps me choose what to do to get these vital needs met.

Here is a list of what I’ve been doing these last few days to meet the needs of my inner spirit.

Initiating calls to friends and family
Coloring a little
Getting out my paints again
Watching Lunch Doodles w/ Mo Willems
Going through old notes and files, revisiting ideas
Drawing cartoons
Writing
Jumping out of bed early one morning to get groceries
Trying Pilates via Zoom
Crying when tears and fears arise to be released
Listening to reliable sources to stay informed
Relaxing to shows that make me laugh

Blessing #2

You’re probably familiar with the oxygen mask analogy, and that would apply here. When our wellbeing needs are met, we are better able to be attuned to what is needed in our close relationships and for the greater community. And, we are in a better position to contribute our creative energies for the greater good.

What I’m suggesting goes even a bit further. By caring for our innermost spirit, we are easier to be around. In fact, every interaction with others has a greater chance of being of higher quality simply because we are more at ease deep down. Compassion, creativity and care are more readily available from this place of being nourished.

Your needs are a blessing when met serve the whole, the whole of you, the whole of goodness for others in your vicinity and beyond.

Blessing #3

Tending to one’s own needs can be an act of faith because the benefit to others is not always obvious, linear or logical. We don’t know what further blessings will result, and the hope and mystery of that possibility is a blessing in itself.

What does your inner spirit need today?

[A note about the artwork:
The painting you see started in 2015. One restless night, at 3AM, I went downstairs to my studio and felt the need to put paint on a white canvas. Like a wave, something greater than myself swept through. The angst subsided and I went back to bed. Since then, a couple more layers of color in 2018 and last week brought this ‘painted prayer’ further into being.

Today it reminds me to pay attention to and appreciate the waves inside me as though they are blessings of guidance and direction at this time of uncertainty.]