By: Emma Stuart
To celebrate Women’s History Month, let’s start by celebrating you! Take a page out of Yoko Ono’s book Grapefruit, where she lists pages and pages of actions to take for the use of therapeutic self-care. This book and mind set was the precursor for modern day self-care. Here’s just a few of Ono’s suggestions… “Light a match and watch until it goes out. Go into the middle of Central Park Pond and drop all of your jewelry. Scream against the sky” (source).
Now, these actions may seem far-fetched and not anything like the self-care industry that we know today, but all of these seemingly outrageous actions have meaning. These actions are focused on the mind, empowering yourself and others, connecting with others, and helping you connect with your imagination. This category of actions is characterized by self-discovery which has seemingly been overlooked in the modern self-care industry. To put this into practice we can combine Ono’s category of actions with the modern self-care industry. Here is a list of actions that you could do this month to take care of yourself.
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Sit outside [weather permitting], put away all distractions, and focus on where you are in that moment.
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Write out a list of people or things that you are grateful for. Post it in your living space and contemplate it often.
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Go on a walk near your living space, find something from your surroundings that inspires you, it could be a rock, leaf, flower etc. Take it and mail it to a friend.
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Take part of a day for yourself, do something that you enjoy and devote your energy to it.
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Find a new piece of media to focus on that brings you joy, a book, a piece of art, a song, etc.
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Take some time out of your day to earnestly tell the important women in your life how much they mean to you. If you can don’t just say it, show it.
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Get ready one day to go nowhere, make sure to wear clothes that make you feel good in your body.
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Spend time with someone who fills your heart with joy.
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Congratulate yourself for getting through the week, get yourself a little treat to celebrate.
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Finally, take some time to reflect and make it known how much you appreciate yourself, do this often.
Even if you can’t do all of these things or these things exactly, try to be intentional about checking up on yourself and taking care of you. As women, that is how we can best celebrate Women’s History Month, by being kind to ourselves.
