image credit: Custom Gourmet Herb & Spice Kit from CraigsMarket
Our last #OMHG chat was a whirlwind of spicy self-care goodness co-hosted by Nicole of ThreeBySea & prompted by her SPICES post. We shared our answers to 6 big questions and packed our hour with inspiration to help spice up our love affairs…with ourselves.
Question #1: How do you care for yourself socially?
- UnurthWonder I carve out time to see people that I love and am inspired by. A coffee or a hike with a good friend does wonders!#omhg
- kittyscuriosity @ohmyhandmade Just been starting with social care. I do a weekly game day with friends to keep me on track, & a knitting circle. #omhg
- PatternedApp I’m working on some “kindness bombs” for far away peeps – something special in the mail. Let them know I care even when don’t say #omhg
- @curiouslt: @ohmyhandmade my biggest de-stresser is the dog park – I love to take Pixel there. Nothing like dogs playing! #omhg
- @IAMTHELAB: Socially: I surround myself with people who are honest, supportive and creative. They move me to give … #omhg
- ohmyhandmade I’m the most social anti-social person ever! I balance my dual nature by giving myself time to expand & contract #omhg
- @IAMTHELAB: So many artists are introverted. Your art is your conversation. We hear you! #omhg
Question #2: How do you care for yourself physically?
- DancingMooney @ohmyhandmade go for a walk, take a hot bath, read a book, make tea! #omhg
- MarisaEdghill Healthy homemade food, long walks, listening to my body. RT @ohmyhandmade: How do you care for yourself physically?#omhg
- @ThreeBySea: PHYSICAL care: Imprompu dance parties w/ kiddo, eating healthy stuff, yoga…#omhg
- thelanguidlion Pilates, dog walks (2x a day), eat healthy (grow our own veg), laugh a lot, stimulate my brain & de-stress on a regular basis! #omhg
- IAMTHELAB @thelanguidlion @kittyscuriosity #omhg You have to have downtime. It’s so essential for a good mind/body.
***a lot of listening to your body ***and food, we all got distracted by the food we all love, including mango key lime pie, fresh bread and, of course, chocolate! Funny, no one mentioned cupcakes 😉
Question #3: How do you care for yourself intellectually?
- PatternedApp @Lu_and_Ed I’ve started listening to books on tape on the treadmill. It helps, esp if you can’t get outside #omhg
- cubicle57blog intellectually I HAVE to put down the twitter and devices and read a book with pages. it forces my brain to focus. no skimming#omhg
- kittyscuriosity @ohmyhandmade We watch a lot of TED type videos, and take free online college courses through Coursera. Love intellectual challenges. #omhg
***LOTS of reading***
- ThreeBySea OK, INTELLECTUAL- Talking to grown ups about anything other than our kids, getting back to blogging & work, reading, etc.#omhg
- curiouslt @ohmyhandmade – crosswords, reading tutorials for my field.#omhg
- @miss_modish: meditation is my fave mind clearer! + actively seeking out & learning new things helps keep my busy brain happy #omhg
- @kathystowell: Watching low-brow movies helps me feel more intellectual anyway. Plus it gives my massive brains a rest! #omhg
- IAMTHELAB @RocajoStudio #omhg I’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy. My project is learning French. Always wanted to, now doing it.
Question #4: How do you care for yourself creatively?
- laalicia #omhg I’m taking a paper marbeling class this weekend! Can’t wait!
- MarisaEdghill Trying new things, collecting inspiration, getting my hands dirty. RT @ohmyhandmade: How do you care for yourself creatively? #omhg
- @pigandfish: Self-care? Take time to play!#omhg
- kathystowell I try to look at the mundane as a creative endevour. ie slim pickings in the fridge; what kind of feast can I whip up? #omhg
- @curiouslt: thats easy for me, everything feeds me creatively – great books, movies, music, art – I consume it all! #omhg
- @RocajoStudio Also reading creative blogs makes me want to create something myself. Usually too many projects on my list 🙂 #omhg
- ohmyhandmade Amen! RT @IAMTHELAB: It cant be said enough: you cant care for others without self-care. Altruism comes best when we self-care. #omhg
- ThreeBySea I think CREATIVE of as an approach to life. #omhg
Question #5: How do you care for yourself emotionally?
- pigandfish Emotional self-care? Recognize the stream of data & allow. Drop the mind into no-thinking and into BEing. #omhg
- IAMTHELAB @ohmyhandmade #omhg Biggest struggle. Dealing with some childhood trauma still. Must always work to keep a healthy view of self.
- ohmyhandmade Emotional self-care: naming my feeling as I have them-for good or bad, trying to balance my darkness with brightness & loving & joy #omhg
- ThreeBySea EMOTIONAL self care…this 1 I’m not as great at, hence the reason I ended up talking to a therapist, but I count that! #OMHG Also, meditate
- laalicia giving your brain a rest #omhg
- kathystowell Nice juicy cry once in a while ~ my new yoga! #omhg
- kittyscuriosity I’m also trying to identify negative thought patterns and rewrite them into supportive & positive ones. #omhg
- ThreeBySea I would venture to guess that EMOTIONAL is hard for a lot of us. #OMHG
Thank goodness we all have this wonderful community to feel safe enough to share and regroup, eh?!
Question #6: How do you care for yourself spiritually?
- storyofmum Spiritual self care: Being outside and being quiet #omhg@ohmyhandmade
- kittyscuriosity Spiritually: Connection to a larger idea/thing — whether nature, others’ creativity, or just good times with good people. #omhg
- @stephdouglas: Im working on remembering the feeling of magic and mystery. Those were always my connection to the spiritual. #omhg
- ThreeBySea I think remembering how interconnected everything is always brings me to center #OMHG
- thelanguidlion By recognizing that I’m an important & beautiful speck of dust in this vast, inexplicable & wondrous universe!@ohmyhandmade #omhg
- MarisaEdghill For me there is nothing more spiritual than the feeling of sitting around a fire on a clear night with kindred souls. Silence, stars.#omhg
- pigandfish Spiritual self-care? It’s the basic fabric of who we all are – taking short moments throughout the day to re-member. #omhg
- storyofmum Another big thing for me is feeling gratitude – projects like the receiving project (@joannarothman) helped connect me to bigger world #omhg
You can read the full chat transcript right here.
What is #omhg? We are a community of talented, creative and caring people who visit every Thursday on Twitter from 1-2EST with the hashtag #omhg to chat about our monthly theme on Oh My! Handmade + life, business & everything in between. Empowering, honest, supportive & full of ideas, our chats leave us all feeling ready to take on the world-come join us and make some new friends!
So much wonderfulness!!!! I really appreciate the recap Geri and Jessika thanks for creating the space to share!
Thank you Kerry! Our chats are one of the highest points of my week, so grateful for our community of awesome!!! PS: Geri you are the bestest ever:)
Thanks, Kerry – a true labour of love 😉
PS: Jess… *blushing* xoxoxo