The quiet art of investing in yourself

I find life such a conundrum.

(I really just wanted to use that word because it makes me sound smart 🤣).

One moment life is full of such joy and promise that you want each second to last for an eternity, and then the next filled with stumbling blocks designed to make you fall flat on your face making you just want to lay there and stare at the ceiling. Life really is like four seasons in a day, and every season brings new weather to navigate, constantly on a new unchartered voyage setting sail without a compass or direction, and every new land is knee deep in some funky shit that we have to work out wether or not we eat it, swim in it, let it swallow us whole or use it to build an empire. Life never comes with a warning label or a signpost, much to my complete disgust.

So how do we get through the stormy weather and out into the open calm spaces?

When I started studying herbal medicine, I learnt the first step of the wise woman method of healing.

First, do nothing.

Be still. Listen to within. In conventional medicine that seems counterproductive. But it makes all the sense in the world. It takes trust. It takes having faith that what is needed for you may not be what you are asking for but that may be even better than what you ever dreamed could be. And in those quiet, still moments, you aren’t being selfish, or greedy, or letting people down.

You are investing in yourself.

Sometimes that investment is time; by stealing moments for things that bring you joy, like quiet walks on the beach, laughter with friends, time to create, or memories that make you warm on the cold days. Sometimes it is financially; by saving little bits of money for yourself in a personal bank account, just for the things that you need to make your dreams a reality. Sometimes that is for health; to make meals that you know are a necessary option, to move more, stretch more, practice stillness. Sometimes that is just putting your needs first and saying no instead of always, even begrudgingly, saying yes.

In the middle of building my shop for this website, when my mind was pulled in so many different directions, I decided to utilise this investment opportunity and get out a block of air dry clay that I had bought months ago and not used.

I made myself a little octopus paint palette. In the craziness of trying to get everything done, I had put aside my great need for play, to create for the sake of creating (I did actually make a video of it though….bonus points!) to make something and not have it perfect and even see the cracks in the clay and let them stay there and even show everyone said cracks because it was all about being in the still do nothing moment, and not about selling, not about perfecting.

I have added the YouTube video for you if you would like to see my cracks 😂 and have some air dry clay play time too 🥰

Even though I only just wrote a blog post about play a month ago, it seems that it really is about “we teach what we most need to learn”. So it’s back to yoga and healthy eating and taking more play time with clay for me! Because I am freakin worth the investment, and so, you awesome creation, are you! So……..how will you invest in you?

❤️ Caz