0911: hero ... and a quote from Mary McCarthy worth pondering today: We are the hero of our own story.
Rapunzel and her Knight, Sir Colin. Rapunzel does a very good job taking care of herself most of the time, but it's always good when someone has your back. It's good to be rescued by a white knight in shining armour, but it's also good to have those times when you rescue yourself.
The movie Tangled was a popular one at our house this summer with daily viewing included in the schedule. What a classic model for all of us to follow in becoming the he/she-roes we were meant to be.
Think about these characteristics of classic he/she-roes and how they interact "out in the world" as they slay dragons and demons, as they chase down the bad guys, as they vanquish the evil in the world. And then I would ask you to think about these characteristics on a more personal internal note.
- Be courageous.
- Be bold.
- Believe in yourself.
- Be loyal.
- Be honest.
- Be positive - refresh, reframe, renew.
- Recognizing when to sacrifice and give help to those who need and when to ask for and being willing to receive the help being offered. Another words, being and having a buddy when the going gets rough.
I don't know about you, but I can get pretty good as ignoring my own dragons and demons because I'm so busy slaying dragons and demons for those I love. NOT GOOD!!!
And so ... I developed a plan. Recognizing this fact (my tendancy toward total disregard of all the things I do or should be doing to take care of me)
- before the beginning of summer,
- before the wonderful exhilerating (and sometimes exhausting) visitations of numerous house guests began,
- before the schedule of rehearsals and concerts took over our calendar
I made a promise to myself that I would keep up with my regular walking schedule with my buddy Jan. Having a buddy to help keep me on track was a key ingredient in being successful with this goal
I developed a "company menu plan" that was easy to fix and required little or no thinking on my part in terms of shopping, preparation, and serving making sure to include plenty of fresh, healthy, snack choices.
I enlisted the help of a neighbor-friend with household chores when guest turn-over times became tight.
I enrolled in a watercolor painting class at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens to give me time to breathe and renew.
I cleared my work schedule keeping commitments to a minimum.
AND, I made a promise to myself to re-instate the more involved self-care practices in September after the dust settled behind the car as the last guest left for the season.
Being the hero in my own story through the summer season meant that I was courageous in develooping a plan of success; I was honest with myself in keeping expectations real and seeking help when needed; I was loyal to myself in paring down but holding tight to my non-negotiable practices; and I believed in myself and was bold in putting my plan into action.
For more about becoming the hero of your own story take a minute to read this excellent blog post by Stephanie Wetzel written for Live Bold & Bloom.
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