How My Life Led To Self-Care – An Introduction…

Hello. My name is Elizabeth. Publically, I only go by my first name and legally use my last name only when I must. (Insert your eye-roll now, lol). And no, I don’t think I’m Madonna (though I’ve loved her style) nor Cher (though I’ve loved her strut). However, using only my first name makes me feel detached from having to carry out some family expectation or be led by anyone’s influence in attempting to domesticate me to their liking. And though I’m very much not like my parents, I’m also very much like my parents –haha! My dad was born in Mexico (so was I) and was quite a surf music-loving Hippie. My mom taught me the beautiful rich history of Mexico’s artful traditions and true culture, (which by the way, is not what you see portrayed and perceived in Hollywood and what we see all over Los Angeles, parts of California, and other states of the U.S.), and yet she was born in Indiana.

I’m fascinated by surfing, attending the U.S. Open of Surfing, and enjoying surfing history and music influenced by this culture. Perhaps influenced by my father? Perhaps it is spending a lot of time at beaches growing up and beyond… And sure, maybe I would be considered a hippie only because I’m a non-conformist. I dress in clothing that expresses freedom, live a bohemian lifestyle, and enjoy grounding in the outdoors. I’m an Aquarius (singing the song “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In” by The Fifth Dimension). I’ve got a love for creating my own traditions.

While all of that makes me seem much like my parents, here’s where I’m not… They lived a very traditional marriage –ya know, the kind that follows societal levels of graduations (date, exclusivity, engagement, wedding, blah, blah, blah)—and with that did the whole typical managing of the household based on macho hierarchy, haha… We all laugh at it now. None of my serious relationships have followed that pattern whatsoever! They did not demand that I go to college (I love them for that and so much more), though I did. But they did eventually fall out of flower power and fall into the expectation that one should have “things” to “show for it” –ya know, “success.” Now at their senior citizen age (still hard to believe they are seniors, those hilarious folks of mine), they realize that all the material things in the world could never bring you true peace of mind, happiness, and even prosperity so-to-speak. Success means much, much more than they’d been led to believe at one point in their life.

Now, what does all this have to do with self-care? Well, besides being firmly raised by these folks and then the many years working as a Human Resources / Staffing Recruiter and Business Consultant, which taught me so much about human behavior, psychology, and talent-or-skill acquiring then taking on my dad’s entrepreneurial itch and operating my own business for ten years working closely with staff/team, I’d say a lot.

I’ve learned that feeling a sense of self can be fogged up throughout life, and regaining the freedom to be yourself can be a challenge. What is the solution? Self-care. I’ve learned that life sometimes feels like change is loss vs. change as an accomplishment. What clarifies this? Self-care. That when life gets you down, and you pick yourself up yet still feel depressed, there’s something that saves you: self-care. That learning how to interview people also works when needing to take inventory of your own life’s situations, matters, choices, feelings, beliefs, and direction. And what helps point that out? Self-care. Taking ownership of your own life means you have enough awareness of what you want, what you deserve, what you are capable of, and just how much self-love you really regard. This all is achieved through compassion, patience, and most of all…the practice of self-care.