Last night I saw an incredible movie that I recommend without reservation. It is Invictus. It captures the essence of what makes Nelson Mandela so remarkable as a leader and offers insight into the key elements of transformation and reform.
You might wonder why I am writing about that on a blog for self-care. The answer can be summed up through another quote that I have always loved, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." (I’ve seen it attributed to both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes).
As individuals, our health and sense of well being are directly linked to our emotions and our emotions are linked to how loved and empowered we perceive ourselves to be. Mandela’s most powerful tool was forgiveness and rather than seeking to right a wrong through disenfranchising those who had oppressed him, he honored what they cherished most and used it as a focal point for creating unity. Mandela realized that for all the immense problems the country faced, none would be resolved successfully until the hearts of people were transformed and joined.
As you consider your own health and how to facilitate body-mind-spirit healing, consider what weighs heavy in your heart that pulls down your energy and contributes to imbalances. Ask yourself what you have identified as disempowering you, whether it is a person, a corporation, a political system, or something else. Then consider how to work with, rather than against those energies for a truly new reality.
I have inserted the poem Invictus below, which was a source of inspiration for Mandela during his 30 years of imprisonment. I am also following this with another blog that was something I had written previously that seemed related. It is called The Dream of Righteousness.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
~ William Ernest Henley
Approaches for self-care, health and inner peace.
About Me
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
~ Harold Thurman Whitman
~ Harold Thurman Whitman
Why I Began a Home Spa Vacation
These are interesting times, which can often be stressful, and staying balanced and healthy in order to successfully navigate them is important to me. In order to do that I create sanctuary in my home and find simple ways as a part of my normal routine to nurture myself. I started this blog to share what has worked particularly well for me.
In the beginning, the focus of the blogs was mostly on external health and beauty routines. As with many things, it has evolved and is now more about nurturing inner home and making the whole world a sanctuary.
In the beginning, the focus of the blogs was mostly on external health and beauty routines. As with many things, it has evolved and is now more about nurturing inner home and making the whole world a sanctuary.
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