Monday, February 11, 2008

Catching up, Self-Care and Creativity

Time certainly does fly. When I look at the date of my last entry, I'm amazed.

There is a little book that I read from every morning, that gently reminds me that every day is a new beginning. With each new day we get to start all over again! Learning to take advantage of this is the real trick, I think.

So, here I am, starting all over again, once again. It's been a busy year for me. I have presented a number of retreats with some pretty amazing women. Whether the retreats have been about self-care and writing/creativity, the same underlying message has been present: When women look after themselves their creativity is nurtured, their energy is re-fueled, their focus is sharper and their relationships enhanced. It's fun for me to find creative ways to empower women to take a look at what self-care could look like in their lives.

Picture: Release your Inner Writing Goddess!

It was also enormously satisfying to lead In Your Write Mind...what is now my signature retreat. Leading this retreat allows me to nurture my own creativity and provide a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere for other women to unleash theirs, too. The results of this weekend were awesome. The women couldn't believe what they were capable of writing! There was no experience necessary - just a desire to explore their creativity through writing. Amazing what taking a little time out for one's self can do!

I'm offering this retreat again in May at the Rowe Center, in Massachusetts. If you go to Current Offerings at http://www.maggiebutler.net/ you can find out more information about it, as well as two other retreats: Gift of the Sea , a weekend retreat based on Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift From the Sea, and One Fine Day - A one-day retreat where we'll look at how to expand our concepts of self-care, and how to integrate them into our busy lives.

I heard something the other day that bears repeating: We can gamble with our health or we can invest in it. I really love the way this captures a bottom line. It's similar to "We can find the time to take care of ourselves or we'll take the time to be sick".

What I'll add is this: We can gamble with our health or our well-being, or we can invest in it.

And...in terms of finding the time? We'll probably never find time for anything. Where exactly do you look for time? Under the carpet? Behind the sofa? In the back of a drawer? You get it...we don't find time. We TAKE time. No one will hand us time - extra or otherwise. We take it, and then we choose how we'll spend it.

I think it makes eminent sense to choose how we'll spend it, rather than having that choice made for us through stress-related illness.

When is the last time you took a break? When is the last time you gave yourself permission to curl up with a book during the daytime? Or go outside for a walk during lunchtime? How do you make time for your creativity to express itself?


Here's an invitation: Make a commitment to yourself that you will do one nice thing for yourself today...something as nice as you'd do for someone you love.


Drop a line and let us know what you do for self-care. What do you do to nudge your creativity?