Nudged: go to the beach

I love how the perfect Nudge is (magically?) drawn at the perfect time.

With all the madness in our world right now, self-care is so important. I need to be better about shutting off the news, checking on vulnerable friends and family members, balancing work+life, and being grateful for what’s good.

The beach is where I go to reset. I don’t go there often enough (and it’s just two miles from home!). I’m going this week.

What Happened: I dropped everything and went to the beach. I walked (kinda danced) in ice-cold water and reinvigorated my body. I sat and watched the waves. I took in great big breaths and gave thanks for fresh air. I sent messages up to Heaven, to family members and friends who have passed over the last couple of years, people dear to me I have yet to grieve. (With so much loss, where do we start?) Finally I lay down in the sand and just…nothing.

The Ah-Hahs: No surprises here. I know going to the beach is something that needs to be a regular practice for me.

I’m sitting here thinking about how I might make that happen, how I could make it a priority on par with going to the dentist or going to the grocery store or running the dishwasher. These things happen because they must, right? So how about we make self-care “to-dos” — especially those that don’t cost us a dime! — part of our weekly schedules?

I’m in the process of creating a daily checklist for myself, of things that I want to become habits. Like going to bed by 10, drinking 3 liters of water, going for a walk. I’m going to add “Go to the beach” once a week. This is important. My health and well-being is important.

Just anticipating this makes me feel good.