Every Friday, I serve as a guide on an exploration of mindfulness for the most beautiful group of tween girls. Last week, the *mindful girls* and I explored what it means when we are free to be loved.
Where is a little extra love or care needed right now?
Inviting each girl to sit in a way that felt the most supportive for this particular moment, I led the group in a meditation that felt like just the right amount of yumminess for our nervous systems.
After wrapping up our time together, I reflected on the loveliness of the experience and started wondering, Are girls being taught the value of self care* or love of self as a necessity rather than a luxury?
In my personal experience, I think I started valuing self care once the daily struggles of motherhood weighed so heavily that I was basically forced into seeing the importance of taking care of myself, of loving myself fully so that I could dish out maximum love for my family. It’s the classic metaphor of filling our cups so we have something left to pour out for others.
But did it really have to take so long for me to realize the value of this? 30+ years on this planet? Really??
Are other women having similar experiences?
As I guide tween girls on an exploration into ways that they are free to be loved, I can’t help but wonder…
How would the life of a woman be different if, as a girl, she had been given tools to help her notice when her mind, body, or spirit were in need of some extra TLC?
How would the life of a woman be different if, as a girl, she had received the gift of a tool box, one filled with healthy strategies that she could become familiar with and practice using so that when things got tough she knew how to find rest and comfort?
How would the life of our planet be different if our culture truly valued the feminine elements of compassion, nurturing, and care-taking and our youth were encouraged to love themselves fully?
How about we try it and find out?
* I don’t really care for the phrase self care, to be honest. It produces an image of a woman wearing a robe while cucumber slices cover her eyes and someone paints her toenails, which is lovely and all, but…caring for self is about so much more than a spa day. It’s about being mindfully aware of how my body, mind, and spirit are feeling and prioritizing whatever works to keep my nervous system regulated.
