REDEFINED THE WORD SELFISH...
What if Selfish became self-ish? Try taking this word, which has a negative connotation, and giving it a positive spin. It is time to be a little more self-ish!
There is a kabblistic tradition taught by Rabbi Joseph Gelberman that tells us to take each word and imbue each letter with a new, fuller meaning. Try this on for size:
S - Nurture your SPIRIT.
E - ENJOY moments alone.
L- LOVE yourself.
F - Keep FIT and FEEL good.
I - Make your unique needs IMPORTANT.
S - SHOWER yourself with gifts.
H - Be HAPPY and opened - HEARTED
Replies
Wonderful! This is something most moms find it very hard to do--find self-ish time. Even with children grown and job responsibilities behind, I still feel a little twinge of guilt when doing things just for myself. Thanks for sharing =)
Hugs, Diane
Thanks for sharing. I need to practice more self-ish stuff ! Hugs Kay
Great Ideal !!!!!!! Love&Thanks
Very interesting idea. I\'m going to write this idea down Thanks for sharing! Love, Cherie
thank you
good message. Thanks for positing it. hugs j
Yes, I was taught many years ago by someone very wise that being selfish had gotten itself a bad rap. Certainly there are ways of being \'selfish\' where you put yourself first, with blatant disregard for others, but really selfish means to take care of one\'s self in a healthy way. If we do not take good care of ourselves, in mind, body and spirit, we really cannot give fully to those that we love.
Our society has long taught that women be long suffering, putting themselves last. How absurd that is. Many women are unable to say \'no\' when asked to help out no matter the cost to us (and the cost often comes at a high price.)
There is absolutely nothing wrong with telling someone we wish we could help (whatever the need is) but we\'ve already made plans. Even if our plan is to soak in a bubble bath. Or again, we wish we could help, but we are already so overextended, that we cannot take on one more thing, regardless of what it is. If friends or family become angry with us for not dropping everything for them, it not only is their problem not ours, but maybe we need to take a look and see if we have not reap what we\'ve sown. Well, it\'s never too late to turn over a new leaf and take care of ourselves because when you come right down to it, we truly are the only ones responsible for us.
It\'s funny how easily we become enslaved in ways we never think about. I was at a friend\'s who was going through a very rough patch in her marriage. She needed a friend to lean on. In the middle of us talking her phone rang, and she said, \"Oh no. Not now.\" I told her to relax. Where is it written that we have to answer the phone every time it rings. The person can leave a message or call back. I swear, she looked like someone had just given her a key to a little bit of freedom.
When I was in my late twenties, my doctor had written something on a piece of paper, folded it twice and gave it to me. He told me to carry it with me always and refer to it often. I opened it and it read, \"I am not responsible for all the problems in the world.\" it truly was a gift.
Very good food for thought...thanks...Karen
Thanks, Kelly, for giving great inspiration to Arizonahugs!
Thanks so much for sharing this and I\'m writing it down to follow and to pass along. The ripple effect for sure... my mom was so awesome in teaching us about this and called it self care and that we had to learn to offer this to ourselves first. I remember her taking time for a massage, a nap, reading a book and yet she worked her socks off so it was a balancing act for sure. We need to not be afraid to share this way of living with our children, grandchildren and future generations too. Hugs, Joanie
Great wisdom for the day. Grief is so exhausting and we should all be a little more selfish. There\'s a lot of truth that we can\'t take care of others until we take care of ourselves. Thanks! Love to you. Robin
thanks for sharing great wisdom I am going to write it down and try selfish cuz the grief is so overwelming. hugs bev
AMEN!!! Perfectly stated! Thank you.
Love and hugs ~ Debbie
That\'s the way to change a paradigm Hugs cathy
That\'s the way to change a paradigm Hugs cathy