“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”

Why this familiar verse lodged in my brain early this month and sometimes still seems relevant to my state of mind over three weeks later may be puzzling, but September while marking for me a new season and new activities has also been the moment at which I have been precipitated back into the “freedom” of the outside world and my old busy life. I, like the Walrus, seem to be caught up in a beautiful, but chaotic world, full of strange questions — most of them impossible to answer. Going out in the world is a big adventure whether for example, one is young and leaving home for the first time, emerging from a period of seclusion as a stay at home Mum or a time of illness or convalescence at any age.

But as I wrote last month, it’s only when one takes charge of one’s life that one begins to feel free. So being able to drive, go where I choose, take my dog for walks, attend meetings, do my own errands start our fall/winter recording sessions for our radio series Word on the Hills and generally take responsibility for myself is one reason I have enjoyed Annette Rochelle Aben’s month long series of suggestions for self care awareness, though I must confess I pick and choose which ones I try to follow. Here are some of my favourites (not in order of their posting and of course we haven’t got to the end of them yet):

Make a list of all your good qualities
Stay in the present moment
Breathe deeply
Forgive yourself (especially for not following all the good advice on the blog)

It’s helpful to be reminded of the importance of physical activities too:

Exercise (maybe by following a series of specific restorative exercises or more generally)
Stretch!
Go for a walk (take the dog is you have one and perhaps a friend)
Breathe deeply again and SING. Something I like to do in the car as I listen to favourite music.

So now I’m working on some of the things that I find hard to fit into my life. I’ll try to:

Take a nap
Soak my feet
Breathe deeply again!
And sometimes say NO.

Thanks so much Annette, for drawing attention to self- care awareness month. I’m looking forward to reading your suggestions for the rest of September.