How does a woman take care of herself when the weather is sleeting ice, and she can’t seek shelter? How do we take care of ourselves when we’ve been conditioned to take care of others, yet are hungry for our own heart, health, and comfort? How does a woman take care of herself in any world when the rules have been changed, borders are challenged, and the players and once-trustworthy referees have quit or been removed from the playing field?
How do we take care of ourselves when basic self-care like sleep or exercise feels indulgent when others are hungry, or when the cries reach our windows to help, please help?
These are not the usual questions in the glossy magazines I grew up with, or that shaped me as a girl. Seventeen Magazine was my go-to monthly read when I turned fourteen. In the pages of Seventeen, I learned things outside my mother’s wheelhouse: How to apply makeup (she wore only occasional lipstick and never applied even face cream). How to strike up a conversation with a boy (Mom was forever comfortable in having great discussions—small chat, to wondrous depth. I was horribly shy.) What was fashionable to wear. I was frustrated in any store. (Too skinny. Too picky. Mom never chastised me, only to get “my colors done,” so that I’d know the science of best colors to wear with my hair and fair to blushing cheeks.
Later, Cosmo quizzes from Cosmopolitan Magazine helped me define my goals and refine to more adult dating preferences through witty female banter. Here, I had edgier magazine role models that weren’t young models trying to look older or younger, but real people with enviable careers in science, the arts, or literature. Some of them did more than kiss and tell, like gossipy Tiger Beat. They inspired me to widen my knowledge.
Yet today, it seems wholly inappropriate not to address the context and texture behind every one of life’s questions piercing my heart. Perhaps if I lived elsewhere, I could be lighter, but in this moment, these questions and more scream for attention. Mental health IS self-care. How does one manage what hurts when the go-to activity is helping others, there are so many in need, and exhaustion clings?
When I or any woman is suddenly told to shut up and put up after years of working for the collective voice of our greatest diversity, artful expression, and spectacular mosaic of experiences, it feels like my car spiraling down the freeway after hitting a patch of black ice in a blizzard. It’s a slow and dangerous spin from what we know is the right direction. While we’ve been taught by word of mouth to steer into the spin until our tires regain traction, we don’t know how to navigate until we catch trusted terrain. Every bit of connectivity is called upon. Past lessons, inner wisdom, and something beyond the body that is sometimes called higher wisdom.
I’ve been blessed with a gift that miraculously bridges the spiritual, emotional, physical, and supra-intellectual worlds. Does it mean I have all the answers? I, Jane, don’t. But that which courses through me—this gift of Source Energy that emphatically showed up a decade ago—has infinite points of connection that lead each soul to access their higher wisdom and profound healing.
Sometimes it’s instantaneous. Sometimes it’s a time-release journey. Sometimes answers come pouring out of me. Sometimes, people in my sessions begin channeling their own insights, which lead to instant health, balance, or reconciliation.
How does that help right now? How does that lead to greater self-care in a suddenly foreign world? Source shares that developing more powerful Spiritual Athleticism is key. Not just flexibility or spiritual strength but practicing the discipline to show up for the life we all were born to live–for the highest and best good of one and all, individually and collectively.
It takes practice. It demands hearty respect for this wholly holy spirit within and the flesh suit into which we’ve found ourselves. Choosing a supportive community is tremendously helpful, and/or trustworthy friends here or anywhere in service of loving kindness, health, and compassion for all beings, that is so important.
In these times, I invite you to join your heart in quest of the mission of your lifetime. Immediately and with love, always.
