Self-Care in the Time of Trump

Back an aeon or so ago, when Trump was first “elected,” and the Resistance was in its initial stages, there was a lot of talk about self-care.  You remember:  articles and posts reminding all of us to not get so caught up in resisting that we neglected to eat healthy food, get enough sleep, exercise, take some time to relax and have fun.  As many pointed out, we’re in a marathon, not a sprint, and, as Son has taught me, you don’t burn all you’ve got in the first few yards of a marathon.

It’s been a bitterly grim slog since then and there are weeks — last week was one for me — when we seem to careen from one unbelievable evil (needlessly ripping children from their parents’ arms), to another (dehumanizing people by calling them animals), to another (foreign governments bribing Trump & his corrupt band of dependent family members), to another (yet another school shooting), and it’s almost impossible NOT to feel overwhelmed, defeated, ground down.  As some friends reminded me this week, that’s a feature, not a bug.  These narcissists thrive on keeping you so overwhelmed that you can’t focus.

And then, of course, we all deal with the normal day-to-day problems of living.  (I swear that, in the last six months, my little cottage has needed more home repairs — roof, generator, fence, phone, printer, computer, water heater, screen porch, lawn mower, locks, gate, drainage in the garden, etc. — than ever.  This week, I finally managed to cajole repair-people into coming to fix the toilet and the bathroom sink.  And, then, last night, the bulb in the bathroom light, which I can’t reach (even with my step-stool), burned out.  Oh, and the microwave died.)  Even before Trump, we were overextended:  working, raising families, doing volunteer work, studying, trying to exercise and to have a daily practice. . . .  And, many of you are now, also, doing the regular Magical Battle for America workings, which, as I know, take time, mental and emotional effort, commitment.

We’re heading towards the November election which, and I don’t mean this as hyperbole, is likely to be THE most important midterm election in America’s history.  Every single one of us needs to be certain that we’re registered to vote, that everyone we know is registered to vote, that we’re volunteering to knock on doors to get out the vote, to phone bank, to drive voters to the polls, to hand out sample ballots.  Seriously, go take Tuesday, Nov. 6th, off NOW and plan to spend the day making sure we manifest a Big Blue Wave.  And, block out at least one evening a week between now and then to get out the vote.  Your local Democratic Party website, or Indivisible webpage, or League of Women Voters’ volunteer will get you started.

So, with all of that going on, I want to re-remind everyone about the importance of self-care.

If you burn yourself out, you can’t be much good to the Resistance.

Some of the most committed Resistance workers I know have taken time over the last few weeks to go to the beach or New Orleans, to get out and ride their horses, to spend Sunday evenings with a friend watching The Crown, to edit the LWBs for tarot decks, to work in their (rain-soaked) gardens, to watch Gardeners’ World on Britbox (talk about a cheap, but glorious, indulgence), to sit at their grandson’s baseball games.  To bake, knit, clean out closets, journal, pet cats.

You can, too.

Take a long, hot bath.  Throw in epsom salts, or herbs, or rose petals, or crystals.  Burn candles or incense.  Go directly to bed.

Have sex.  Do it again.  All acts of love and pleasure are rituals of the Goddess.

Did you set goals at Samhein or pick a Word of the Year on Jan. 1st?  Spend some time journaling about where you are.  Do some divination.  Make a fun offering to the fairies.

Make the perfect cup of tea.  Drink it.

Bake something satisfying; bread has the advantage of allowing you to punch, knead, and roll, but fruit pies are wonderful this time of year (strawberry/rhubarb, blueberry/thyme, lemon meringue), while cheese straws last forever in a tin and are perfect to pull out when unexpected guests (or expected guests for whom you didn’t find time to get ready) show up.

Make something concrete:  a painting, a sweater, a clay pot, a new blend of incense.

Turn on music you love and dance as if nobody’s watching.

Go for a long walk somewhere interesting.  What’s your version of “old town”?

Chop up cucumbers and throw them into your ice-water.  Slice strawberries, or limes, or angelica stems , and do the same.

If you can afford it (or can trade with a lover or friend), have a pedicure, or a massage, or a manicure, or a haircut, or get your cards read, your astrology chart drawn, your chakras cleansed.

Go to the library, wander into sections you never visit, and come home with at least two books you never thought you’d read.  Read them.

Use Duolingo or Mango Languages to regain (or build) your proficiency in Spanish, or Gaelic, or Whale.   (Yes!  Mango offered lessons in Whale).  Take an online course (or MOOC (massively open on-line course)) in the history of Hadrian’s Wall, or Chinese ceramics, or Algebra, or Wordsworth poetry, or Magic in the Middle Ages.

Climb into a friend’s truck and visit a nursery, an old cemetery, the mountains, an antique store, a regional museum, the new beer garden, a local theatre.

Have you binge-watched Rome, Anne with an E, Larkrise to Candleford, Dickensian, Midsomer Murders, Shetland, Death Comes to Pemberly, the Tudors, the Medici, Wolf Hall, Queen Elizabeth’s Secret Agents, Call the Midwife, Vera, Hidden Villages, Emily of New Moon, Wives and Daughters?  Can you suggest others?

At a MINIMUM, ground, center, breathe.  Relax the muscles in your shoulders.  Unclench your jaw.  Roll your shoulders.  Eat some protein.  Use this, which I stole from someone (the Dali Lama?), years ago:  “Breathing in (breathe in) we know that we are in the present moment.  Breathing out (breathe out) we know that it is the perfect moment.   Breathing in (breathe in) we know that we are in the present moment.  Breathing out (breathe out) we know that it is the perfect moment.  Breathing in (breathe in) we know that we are in the present moment.  Breathing out (breathe out) we know that it is the perfect moment.”

I think you get the idea, but, PLEASE, add your own suggestions in comments.  How do you take care of yourself so that you’ll be fresh for the fight?  We really, really need you.

Picture found here