Where will self-care lead you?
Did you know that practicing self-care for a year led me to videography? Well, it did. About six or seven years ago (pre COVID), I gave myself the gift of NOT working outside of the home for ONE year. Yep, you read it right. ONE YEAR. Now, this wasn’t a rash decision. I spoke in depth with my husband and we ran the numbers. We worked it out. And, yes I know how freaking lucky I am to be able to take a year off. I am aware of the privilege I have.
During that year, I had to flex my saying “no thank you” muscle and it was challenging to say no. It was uncanny how many offers came my way and I said no to all of them. It was really difficult to let go of what others might be thinking of me. It was hard to let go of working outside of the home. It was hard to identify self worth with something other than earning money. It was hard to feel like I deserved to take a year off while my husband continued to work (even though I was still doing plenty of work - the hidden work load of managing the household and all the members within the household). It took practice saying no!
So, what was I saying yes to during that year? When I wasn’t managing the house or my daughters, I found myself outdoors a lot. It is peaceful in nature… the forest doesn’t need anything from you. Can you imagine that? Spending time in an environment where no one needs anything from you? You might actually begin to hear your own heart asking you for things. My heart just asked me to keep returning to the Wissahickon and so I did. And, I began to pull out my smartphone and hit record. I wanted to share the scenery and the serenity with all my friends. Thus, the birth of my videography career.
There are several years in between the Wissahickon videos and my family films business. However, this is essentially how it all began. By allowing myself the RADICAL self-care time of an entire year to slow down, I found my way to family videography. I found my way to creating art. And, I love it.
Where will self-care lead you?
