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A Vow of Self-Care

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photo by george hiles

How can we take care of ourselves? How can we be present with all that’s arising in and around us? Is it safe to be fully present amidst a life that offers many moments of joy, peace, ease alongside grief, injustice, and sorrow?

Buddhist teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda shares a “Great Vow for Mindful Activists” in Lion’s Roar:

Aware of suffering and injustice, I, _________, am working to create a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world. I promise, for the benefit of all, to practice self-care, mindfulness, healing, and joy. I vow to not burn out.

I encourage us all to make a vow in these challenging times, a vow to take excellent care of ourselves, our communities, our earth. A vow to engage in the deepest care possible. What does that kind of care look like for you?

In the aforementioned article, Ikeda mentions: “Healing. Rest. Self-care. Restorative justice. Restorative yoga. Trauma-informed dynamic mindfulness. Compassion. Love. Community healing.”

A few more: Being in nature. Generosity. Service. Gratitude. Forgiveness. Simplicity. Letting go. Boundaries. Laughter. Creativity. Retreat. Physical activity. Nutrition. Mental health care. Play. Radical Self-love. Beginning again.

And countless other forms of care…

If we all took a vow of self-care and prioritize it in our lives, I can only imagine the ripple effect of care it would have in the world.

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InterPlay & Meditation Gathering on Being with Grief — Oct 26 & Oct 28

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Please join me for an evening of community, support, and healing where we will utilize movement, meditation, storytelling and more to dialogue with grief and give voice to that which is lost and that which is also being created anew.

Limited space is available. Please rsvp for the event here.

 

For a complete list of Lissa’s upcoming offerings, please visit here.

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Inviting in Hope

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& what if change, an inevitable occurrence and something that many fear or resist, was an entry point to hope?

Insight into change teaches us to embrace our experiences without clinging to them — to get the most out of them in the present moment by fully appreciating their intensity, in full knowledge that we will soon have to let them go to embrace whatever comes next.

Insight into change teaches us hope. Because change is built into the nature of things, nothing is inherently fixed, not even our own identity. No matter how bad the situation, anything is possible. We can do whatever we want to do, create whatever world we want to live in, and become whatever we want to be.

—Thanissaro Bhikku