Every day in my morning email I find something called a "Gratitude Burst". It gives me a little something extra to start my day with. Today I came across a unique little book by Leslie Levine called "Ice Cream for Breakfast – If you follow all the rules you miss half the fun." Being a type A perfectionist who would sooner die than break a rule, this book caught my attention. After reading the first few chapters, I found that doing some things out of the norm was actually a way to take better care of ourselves. Bending or breaking some of what we hold to as "rules", turns out, can also be powerful stress busters.
"Self-pity is the simplest luxury." ~Rita Mae Brown, Bingo (1988), was the quote starting the chapter entitled Just A Spoon Full of Sugar. It began by reminding us of the little toy rewards we always got at the doctor or dentist when we were young. Being gentle with ourselves after a time of pain shouldn't stop just because we're over eighteen. Pain, physical or emotional, hurts at any age. A small reward really does help heal.
My husband is the master bearer of gentleness whenever I am "wounded", and even sometimes when I'm not. He knows how happy fresh flowers on the mantle makes me and most Saturdays returns from a grocery run with a colorful bouquet. I remember spending many mornings after a workout at Dunkin Donuts as my reward for going to the gym. Over the past six months I learned to break many "rules" I imposed in the name of learning to take better care of myself. There were days when there was a lot to be done around the house, but warm sun and blue sky screamed beach. Normally I would be a good girl and finish my work before heading to the beach, often finishing too late to go at all. Lately, I just drop what I am doing, pack my bag and head out. I also look forward to lunch (complete with one square of dark chocolate) in front of the noon news each day, despite the chores beckoning. I call these my "gentleness bursts". Just small moments that remind me I've been down a long road and it's time to stop punishing myself. As Levine suggests in chapter 3, "For every situation that's not particularly pleasant, give yourself a gift, something to make it all worthwhile, something that will remind you later that "it wasn't so bad after all."
And so, as another day goes by, I have learned to, as Levine says, "recognize and accept the healing properties of chocolate", and …I have written
Leave a Reply