My Self-Care Garden

Hardy Hibiscus

"Self-Care" seems to be a relatively new concept. When I was a young adult, there was no talk of "self-care," at least not that I remember. 

The stress of today's world, though seems to have brought the idea of carving out time to care for yourself to the forefront of many people's minds. We need time to retreat from the crazy, over-stimulated world and simply breathe. To reset. 

Self-care can be anything where you are creating space for you. It could be extravagant like a spa day or it could be simple and cheap like making sure you work-out, meditate, or just curl up with a good book.  

For me, going outside and working in my garden is part of my self-care ritual. I love nothing more than to get my hands in the dirt and remove weeds from the soil. To commune with my flowers, trees, and shrubs. To breathe in the oxygen that they release and to give them my breath in exchange. To be surprised when a big fat nightcrawler wiggles up to the surface. And to be momentarily terrified when a wolf spider the size of my thumb appears in front of me. (When that happens, I usually surrender that part of my garden to the spider and work in a different spot.)

Double Begonia

It is hard, sweaty, filthy, work and yet as I'm crouching in the dirt, taking care of all my flowers, I feel them taking care of me. I give my time and sore muscles, but I receive so much more. Not only do I receive a sense of peace and oneness with a greater world outside myself, but they give me their beauty all summer long. I'm grateful for the time I'm able to spend in my garden and I'm grateful every day I gaze out my window and see my flowers smiling back at me. 

Today, on this cloudy day in Cleveland, I thought I would share their beauty with you.

Let me know which one you like the best!!

I'd love to hear what you do to make space for yourself and what you're grateful for today!!

Mandevilla

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathy

Clematis

Siberian Iris

Platycodon-Balloon Flower

Tiger Lily

Bleeding Heart

Rose of Sharon

I'm Sick of My Phone

 

The other day, I got an alert on my phone: 

You spent an average of 4 hours and 30 minutes daily on your phone last week. Congratulations, that's down from last week's average.

Instantly, I wanted to throw my phone.  That number couldn't be correct. I'm not on it that much. I clicked to see the breakdown. 

There it was, right in front of me, my daily breakdown of cellphone usage.  Sunday, I spent 3 hours reading news. Monday, it was productivity and finance. In my head, I tried to rationalize that one-I was accomplishing things. One day, I spent 2.5 hours on the Social category. Every day there was something that drew me in for hours to that little screen attached to my body.

I'm 52 years old, I've lived 2,704 weeks. According to the book 4,000 Weeks by Robert Boseman, which says the average person lives only about 4,000 weeks, about 77 years, I only have 1,296 left. Of course, I had to use my phone's calculator to figure that out. 

Do I really want to spend my remaining weeks on my phone for 4 hours a day? That seems like such a waste. Especially, when I think about my first 35 years when I had no portable phone at all. I was still able to work, keep up with my friends and family, and know what was going on in the world. 

Sure my iPhone 11 makes a lot of things easier. Texting multiple friends, family members, and clients in a day is super quick and easy. Now I can carry 5,000 photos, 2,000 videos, and countless books literally in my pocket. I can keep up with Breaking News as it is happening no matter where I am. Most importantly for me, a navigationally impaired person, I have a map with me at all times. 

But does that make it better? Am I really more productive now that I can eliminate every moment of boredom? Am I living a happier more meaningful life?