Thriving Thursday: Self-Care Is Mindfulness of Our Well-Being



"Self-care is how you take your power back."- Lalah Delia



Every Thursday, World Pulse Ambassadors meet online to check in with each other. It is a welcome break from the realities that are happening in the world. It is a time where we learn from our sisters who sign up as Trainers. 



In each meeting, there are roles Ambassadors can choose from:   The Master of Ceremonies (MC) who keeps the flow going and engaging; the Executive Producer who ensures tech works smoothly; and the Transcriber/Translators who type/translate the whole process in the chatbox. 



On the recent Thriving Thursday, our MC was Paulina Lawsin-Nayra. To up the ante of our Circle Time, she asked the Ambassadors to sing "the song in your heart". 



It was a joyous time to listen to songs with powerful messages and in foreign language. There were those who sang their own compositions. It was a delightful activity to get to know one another through music.



Our Trainer was Anjana Vaidya. Her topic was Self-Care During the Pandemic.



Anjana shared that Self-Care is more than treating yourself, but an ongoing process of being human. It's living purposely and consciously.We need to "Nourish to Flourish". 



Self-Care is paying attention to our emotional, physical, social and societal well-being. 



Anjana demonstrated to us how we must take time to taste the water, not just drink it in a hurry. It's drinking sensibly. 



She shared about mindful eating, not rushing to finish the food, but to reflect where the food came from: how long it took to produce it, how far it travelled to reach the market to our kitchen. When we think that way, it makes us value what we eat. 



"Drink your food, eat your water", that is a gentle reminder from Anjana's daughter.



Anjana reminded us to be mindful of our posture. If we work from home during the pandemic, we sit a lot. We need to get up once and a while to stretch. We must also practice to blink our eyes when we stare at the computer for a long time. She shared we need to develop an exercise routine because our body is created to be active. 



On emotional well-being, she talked about the importance of expressing ourselves. If no one is there to listen to us, we can write them down. Better yet, she suggested to write it on World Pulse to receive encouragement and support.



More ways to practice self-care are asking for help, doing something we enjoy, reflecting on our good qualities, and being around happy people.



Anjana introduced the term Compassion Fatigue. It is feeling physical, emotional and spiritual distress in providing care for others.



She said most of us are activists and social workers, we hear about people facing difficult situations that can make us feel exhausted. Sometimes we feel hopelessness because we can't solve all their problems. When we feel the symptoms of compassion fatigue, then it's a sign to take care of ourselves. We must learn to set boundaries.



It was such an enlightening presentation about self-care. Part of the discussion was as women we care for our families and other people, but we don't know how to ask for help. Also, women are seldom asked if we need help. 



As women, the demands of juggling our roles are high, but we need to rest and relax, too. Self-care is not selfish. It's necessary.



Those who join Thriving Thursdays know that this is a time well-spent. Every week our bond grow stronger that meeting every Thursday is our form of self-care.



We hope that the rest of the World Pulse Ambassadors can join every week. We would be happy to connect with you because "Together we thrive"



Kudos to Ate Pauline for being a fun and engaging MC, Anjana for the soulful topic, Tam and Manasa for translating French and Hindi!



P.S. This coming Thriving Thursday (August 20, 2020), I will be sharing about Tips on Writing Project Proposals. 



 

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