Skip to content

Write Now With Jean Rowe: A Second Helping

We talk often about how we can care for ourselves. It may sound like a lofty ideal on some days and urgent on others. This article outlines many nuggets of wisdom; they are  valuable reminders. Here are some especially delicious ones to remember:

The term “self-care,” [was] once found mostly in the revolutionary texts of writers like Audre Lorde (who described it as “an act of political warfare”).

More than ever, people are putting a conscious, curated effort into the once simple task of maintaining their own well-being.

Let’s shine a warm and bright light on the psychologically nourishing power of little things. Self-care does not have to be a big ticket item draining our bank accounts or our precious energy. We can keep it simple. What is your wise intuition telling you? What do you need? At this moment, just for today?

Oh! And a cautionary tale:

With all the cultural focus on wellness that’s happening right now, it can be tempting to approach self-care as something performative, not because you think it will make you feel good.

Let’s keep performance, perfectionism and competition out of self-care, which is, after all, a sacred act.

 

Journaling ideas to play with:

  • Where are you practicing or how can you invite revolutionary self-care? 
  • Craft a curated self-care list past, present and future. 
  • Put your ideas to the test: is this just a one-time thing or is this something I want to make long-lasting?

Let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear from you.

“I want to live the rest of my life, however long or short, with as much sweetness as I can decently manage, loving all the people I love, and doing as much as I can of the work I still have to do.”

Audrey Lorde

Cactus Cancer Society is proud to present Write Now with Jean Rowe! Each month, come on over to Young Adult Voices and read everything Jean Rowe, Certified Journal Therapist, has to say!

Love what you’re reading? Check out the many programs Jean is facilitating (including 30 Minute Tune-UpWeekly Journal Prompts, and The Bridge) and sign up to join one today!