sleepy girl speaks of workshops and self care

I'm tired.
But I've been neglecting this space for too long.
So a short list:

1. Last Saturday I attended a Women's retreat hosted by the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding. Very powerful stuff.
Follow and support them. They are doing great things for our community.

a group shot at the end of our day

2. Tonight I went to a workshop called 'Curse of the Nurturer' given by Brandi Adair of The Vibrant Alternative. Lot's of great information plus new and helpful ways of simplifying life so that I can actually get down to the business of self care. Something really helpful for me to know about myself that I realized tonight- if I don't schedule it (it being exercise, meditation, making art etc.), it's just not going to happen. Brandi's next workshop, Discovering Abundance will be Tuesday, June 19 at 6 pm so there's still time to sign up.


I've dropped the ball on the whole self-care challenge, I'm well aware. I've been wondering if any of you have gone on without it anyway and made changes. If any Gainesville locals are interested in forming a small in person discussion group on how to best support each other in this either comment below or message me on facebook. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sabrina Ward Harrison

"You are worth your joy"

So, the DAY AFTER I wrote about self care my Dad found his way to a hospital bed with 2 pretty serious infections. The past 10 days have been spent happily doing everything BUT self care for myself. Still, in the back of my mind...in the fleeting quiet moments...I keep returning to my last blog post. And I'm STILL pretty unclear on how our support challenge will go...but I'll get there.

For now...here is a piece written by my friend Jill Malone called Moral. For those of you who have never read any of Jill's stuff, you are in for it...in such a good way.

Excerpt:

Your life is worth more than having to talk yourself into work every day. And you may say that’s a privileged attitude. But joy is something you work at. Joy is something you prioritize. What is your joy worth to you? Is it worth making less? Is it worth having to work your way up all over again? Is it worth trying something entirely new? What is your joy worth, sister, ’cause I can’t imagine you sat in a classroom when you were 12 and announced, “When I grow up, I’ll put up with anything in exchange for three weeks of paid vacation.”

Jill Malone, Moral

Self-Care

 50 Ways to Practice Great Self-Care Without Spending a Dime

 This list is full of great reminders. Here are a few that stood out to me:

- Get complete about one thing you have left undone and that is tugging at your attention.
- Make a Self-Care Calendar and mark out times just for you.
- Write a “Let it go” letter about something it is time to let go of.

Recently I got to a point where I realized I was taking care of everyone and everything- -except myself. It's a challenge to change such strong habits so Im starting with 1 or 2 things that are MOST important to me. It's so easy to stop taking care of ourselves. How do you practice self care? What is one thing you'd be willing to do differently?

I'm considering doing a self care challenge on this blog- would you be interested in participating? My thoughts are that if we support each other in making healthy changes we'll be more likely to stick with it. Suggestions? What kind of challenge would most support you?