Every morning, I wake up and devote myself to a daily practice of time alone with myself, and I don’t feel selfish or guilty about it.
It has taken many years for me to realize that I need my cup to fill up and runneth over. I need to feel the ooze of emotions abounding plentifully, or else I am not satiated. For years, as I had newborns, toddlers, elementary, middle, and high school children, I was not practicing a daily ritual of spending time alone. Instead, I invested all of my energy, like many moms out there, in my children, husband, and house while I was a stay-at-home mom.
My cup started to become empty with a lot of cracks, nicks, and chips all over. My cup began to stain, which happens when it sits in the sink. No one, including myself, was rinsing out my cup, scrubbing it inside and out to let the cracks open up and become clean and even shiny again. My cup was ignored and returned to the cabinet for yet another day to roll around.
Then there was a change. I can’t quite pinpoint when, but this slow epiphany started to reveal parts of me that were a bit lost.
It was quite simple. I started to fill up my cup each morning with a dose of sunshine. I happen to be blessed with a view of the magnificent sunrise every morning. I used to see the sun rise, ignore it, and move on to the ever-important tasks of making lunches, gathering water bottles, and attempting to get everyone out the door on time.
But the one thing missing from the early-morning routine was me.
I was missing out on the part of the morning that could fill up my cup and change the course of my day. I slowly started this journey by just sitting down at the kitchen table and gazing out the window, and each day I found I was spending more time.
Today, some days my cup is runneth over with the sugary milk dripping down the sides of my white cup, but other days my cup is filthy, and the cracks are filled with the stains of yesterday. This cup of tea, while watching the sunrise, enables me to feel the warmth of the new day approaching, and a big hug encircles me with confidence that all will be okay today.
This time, with my cup of tea, staring out the window even for just a few minutes, gives me permission to daydream.
The peace surrounding me allows me to dream about past memories, what is currently happening in our hectic household, or the future path I am headed on, that is, until I am called out of my daydream by hearing a voice from upstairs asking me to make an egg sandwich for breakfast.
I may not know much, but one thing I do know is this: find something simple to fill up your cup.
It will be different for everyone, but you deserve to feel mindful and to wrap yourself in self-love, even for a few minutes each day. Simply put, my cup is runneth over when I take time for the daily practice of me, and I don’t feel selfish or guilty about it.
Yes, yes, yes!