Self-Care is Selfless

For, “the work we do on ourselves becomes the best gift we can possibly offer to the world, to everyone else.”

One of the quotes that just hit hard a few years back was this: “You Can Never Pour From An Empty Cup.” And that has been one of my most important reminders to myself ever since. Hence, here’s a little rephrasing of the same sentiments.

If you really and truly want to be there for everyone, with integrity of course, and not in a shallow blindly people-pleasing way, put yourself first.

You are understanding and accepting of others, aren’t you?
Then why not trust others also to be capable of the same?

Respect people enough to trust them to understand your honest flawsome self, with all the needed boundaries in place. Let people have one chance to honour your trust in their power of empathy. Okay, maybe more than one chance could do even, depending on circumstances and people, of course.

It does not hurt to show up with integrity, without expecting it to be accepted, or even respected for that matter. As I write this, I understand that it’s got to be a situational call and not a blanket rule. However, I would still consider giving it a thought, considering it as one possible way of going through life, with certain people at least, as often as plausible. The self-care here is to see the response from the other person for what it is, and not for what we expect it to be in the first place. Remember, authenticity comes without any expectation of acceptance attached to it. Our next layer of mannerism can always be tweaked according to the level of appreciation received for such candidness. Yet, beginning from a place of respect and trust leaves us with the solace of having treated the other person with our best regards.

Can that prevent us from getting hurt, feelings of regret or resentment or anger even? Nope!

Can it help us in regaining confidence in our own grace, our own resilience? Yes, love! Give it a chance, and it sure can.

Give people credit for their generosity and kindness towards you as well, as often as practically possible.
Be Your Own Sunshine!
And create that space for others to be the same for themselves.