Who forgets to breathe? No-one. We live so therefore, we breathe. The breath of life is something we take for granted unless of course something impedes our breathing. We think about our breathing the most if for some reason we are having trouble breathing. My chain of thought this morning is about breathing, self care and making choices to help us breathe better. Put your own oxygen mask on first comes to mind. I have often thought of that saying and use it when talking about my self care. I realized yesterday that my ‘Everyone’s Ok’ has taken a bit of a back seat to the mantra ‘ I’m OK ‘ lately. Is that selfish? Not if you follow the oxygen mask instruction. The key to truly benefiting from putting your own oxygen mask on first is leaving it on long enough for it to do any good.
I intend to do just that. I will of course continue to care about my people and my work but my goal is to put my needs first. Radical and life changing but something we all should do so that we are well enough to be there for those who need us to be. Tomorrow my granddaughter turns thirteen. How quickly she has grown into a young woman. She has so much to learn and so much to discover. I hope in all that discovery she keeps her own well being at the forefront.