I heard a Hawaiian phrase recently – malama pono – which means ‘take good care of yourself’ and I wondered, do you?
Do you take care of yourself the way you know you should or do you coast through life taking your health and well-being for granted?
I know I don’t always take the best care of myself, distracted by business, commitments to others and yes, I admit it – sometimes laziness.
What? A life coach admitting to laziness? Not too common I know, but hey I’m human and I’ve got my challenges just like you do!
It’s been four months since I first focused on self-care in the month-long homage. Four months during which time my focus has waxed and waned as reliably as the moon.
And it makes sense that I’m thinking of it again now as I’ve been in Maui the past two weeks and self-care has been effortless, creating a sense of well-being and joy I haven’t felt in a very long time.
This focus on self-care and joy was partly inspired by Andrea Olson’s recent post 100 Tiny Pulses along with Martha Beck’s Joy Diet, not new but an empowering menu of daily practices for a happier life. But more on that in a minute.
While here in Maui, this is what effortless has looked like.
Typical vacation day:
- Up between 6-6:3oam
- 15 minutes of meditation (sometimes watching the horizon for whales)
- Breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, maca and nuts
- An hour or two of writing
- Day’s activity
- Picnic lunch made with fresh local ingredients
- Lots of walking and fresh air
- Healthy dinner, usually grilled with fresh veggies
- Asleep by 10:30pm
What’s important to note about this regime is this – it’s pretty simple, and more importantly it’s sustainable.