Self-Care: An Act of Political Warfare
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
~ Audre Lorde
I come from a religious culture that encourages taking care of yourself and yet, it is severely lacking among many of the women I know and care about. In Judaism, we are taught “Love your neighbor as yourself.” When taught, it is emphasized that the neighbor part is the most important.
But we are also taught “If I am not for myself who will be for me?” from the Ethics of the Fathers.
That being said, if you looked at what that culture expects of women you might not believe it. The pressure to give and give and give more is unrelenting. Why? Well, in that world we are taught that God does not send you a challenge that you can’t handle. Therefore, everything sent is manageable. Otherwise, God wouldn’t have sent them to you.
What? Really?
Living this way can kill you. It almost killed me.
Maybe the challenge is learning how to set a boundary? Learning how to say “no?”
In addition, this is a huge challenge in getting women to invest in themselves and take an Empowerment Self Defense class.
In addition, this is a huge challenge in getting women to invest in themselves and take an Empowerment Self Defense class. Using that money, that time, that energy to take care of themselves is taking away from those they take care of, and that is a hard choice.
No, not every woman has this issue. No, it isn’t only women who have this problem. Yes, that is a generalization based on observation. And yet, if you find yourself stopping yourself from making the time and spending the money to invest in your health, mental or physical, maybe ask yourself if you have bought into the “selfless is honorable” and “self-centered is evil” messages that are part of your culture.
IMHO these messages are meant to control us. Stepping out of them is, as Audre Lorde says “an act of political warfare.”