Wellness That Serves You and Me

Learn how to support one another as we heal community-shared trauma without losing sight of our individual needs and care. Work together to achieve community wellness.

Heart Grown

Self-Care, Fueled By Goodness

For many, self-care feels out of reach or it is overused without practical guidance. We imagine 50-minute meditations, elaborate vacations, or a day at the spa. While these are also examples of ways we can care for ourselves, the following will also fill our buckets:

• Taking 15 minutes to browse your favorite magazine.

• Finishing a cup of coffee in peace and without multitasking.

• Pausing to listen to bird songs in the morning as you lock your front door.

• 5 minutes to cycle through prayer and affirmations.

• Massaging your arms, hands, and legs before bed.

It is said in many ways but the sentiment always lands the same: My oxygen mask goes on first, so that I may assist someone else with getting theirs on next.

Love inspires care and care is generosity. This is the fuel that allows you to pour into someone else. Nothing powers us the way love does.

Co-wellness is care that we engage in with others. It is for ourselves and each other. It may look like this:

• Writing a 'thank you' note or love note on a Post-it for a dear one.

• Sharing your vegetable garden with neighbors.

• Sharing a song's link with someone to make them smile.

• Dropping off one or some of your prepared meals because you know a neighbor or friend has been too sick or busy to shop.

• Offer to pick up their Costco list.

• For those with whom you share close relationships, you might tidy the kitchen.

• Inviting a friend to join you on a quiet walk.

The point is that co-wellness is relational, not transactional. It is not about trading, borrowing, or bartering. This wellness is always within reach and within boundaries. There isn't a need to go "above and beyond". Bring yourself and offer what feels like a comfortable reach for you after noticing a need or gap in a dear one's life. When shared with the simple intentions of love and care everyone involved benefits from the good feelings of simply being good.

"Nothing powers us the way love does."

You may need all of your meals this week, but you email your friend a discount code or coupon for their meal plan. Perhaps you cannot pick up the Costco list but you agree to meet them at the house to help unload and shelve everything.

Then after a big hug, you're both on your way again feeling uplifted. That is more than enough. It's care and perhaps it inspires you to be receptive to someone else's care of you next time. We cycle through this life because our higher selves are always waiting to be realized.

There is no need to hone in on a neighbor or friend that is resistant to co-wellness. It is not second nature to everyone and that is okay. Some of us may need time to readjust to being loved on and included in a relational and community-driven way. However, those who can benefit from your kindness and support exist in abundance. Keep watching for opportunities and be as adaptive as possible.

Remember, what you desire is also desiring you. Resistance does not mean you are not needed. It means we've work to do collectively.

"We cycle through this life because our higher selves are always waiting to be realized."

Thrive in a Community of Wellness

We can do many things on our own. Except thrive. Surviving often requires the bare essentials and is optimal in the short term. However, for sustainability and longevity, in other words, to thrive, we need connection and a sense of belonging.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs illustrates that even before self-actualization or purpose, one must fulfill the need of sharing love and connection. Through hungry curiosity and openness, we find ways to connect. Seeing all the ways we are the same, rather than separating from one another due to differences, is a somewhat simple way to connect with neighbors and friends. The benefits far outweigh the awkwardness:

• Discover new places or skills.

• Renewed inspiration, motivation, and positive energy.

• Builds or strengthens relationships.

• Gives a sense of belonging and responsibility.

Co-wellness and self-care are not handouts or life coaching jargon. Let us actualize a world where everyone is respected, has dignity, is giving, and is compassionate. Taking care of ourselves and being in service to others fosters a society where everyone feels valued and supported. Let us normalize pouring into ourselves without guilt and caring for others without shame. We deserve it.

It is time we plug into the world that we want to be a part of and heal this planet, ourselves, and eachother.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

From my soul to yours,

Dana

#wellnessthatservesus