Are you there for YOU?

Hope you all are excited about this NEW year…. I am!

I hope this New Year you will choose to be there for yourself… that is if you haven’t been. To take care of your own needs… to put your self on the pedestal and to move you to the top of your list…if you don’t consider yourself as important who else will?

There comes a stage in life we need to take care of our own needs… I have certainly reached that stage… I am tired of not been there for myself…for me - my own self care is very important… I cannot depend on others to take care of my dreams… I just have to do it myself…

Recently, I was talking to an older friend of mine… she is now over 60 and she is a mother of 3 grown children. We were having a heart –to- heart talk and she sounded so unhappy with her self. She said that she never had any time to take care of her dreams and goals… although she was happy to be there for her children she missed not being there for her…She had also been there for her husband... supporting them with all their dreams and goals...There were tears in her eyes… I could feel her sadness...she talked about the dreams she had… the talents she had when she was young… her hopes…She had expected her parents and later her husband to encourage her to achieve her goals… I re-assured her that she can still do those things… but she said it’s too late… because she no longer had the physical energy to do certain things…. Perhaps, she is right… although we say its never too late… there comes a time in life it could be..

I am sharing this experience with you because you also may be thinking of doing something… but not really taking any action… we tend to procrastinate things for a lot of reasons…. Especially, when it comes achieving a personal goal.. We also depend on others to give us encouragement… we expect this…. We think it’s their duty…. Even if we have the talent and know we need to go ahead and do something we just wait for someone else to push us… sometimes, unfortunately, it will never happen…the approval or the encouragement will never happen… then what happens?

We are used to thinking ourselves in some role - mother, father, brother, sister, daughter, son, etc… etc… We are more moldered to taking care of responsibilities and obligations… We take them more seriously… and often neglect our own personal desires…

So, today take the first step.. do something for you… yes, YOU… just you… whatever it is… be it singing, belly dancing, writing, painting, gardening, travelling… take a step… it needn't be a big one… one little baby step…just try… what do you have to lose? If you fail so what? Who is giving you points?

Let me share… I am glad I started to write this blog… I had thought about it for a long time but procrastinated… fear was a big barrier… fear of failure was huge… fear of making mistakes in my writing may be… but now I don’t… I don’t think I write perfect… it’s not even important to me any more… but when I write I know I am honouring my true self… I feel connected to my self… Its not an obligation, its not a responsibility, I am not fulfilling anybody’s expectations – I feel this is where I get to be ME… its freeing and its such beautiful feeling… if I ever live up to 60 I don’t want to feel like I didn’t take care of my needs and goals and aspirations… I want to feel like I honoured my self in the best possible way I can…

I know I am a responsible individual… I never shy away from responsiblity… I fulfill my roles as wife, sister, employee, friend, etc, etc, in the best of my ability…but I realize I also have a responsibility to take care of my own needs just the way I do for others… I choose to be there for ME!

Are you there for YOU?