Hello, Loves.

A few weeks ago, when August was still in its early days and the preparations for our 60th anniversary were still in initial stages, I noticed that we had a series of celebrations throughout the fall, with only September missing a specific event.

“Let’s offer a 60 Minutes of Service Challenge!” I proposed.

“We can list all kinds of opportunities to volunteer at church cleaning windows or tidying the courtyard, or volunteering with Rebuilding Together, or helping fellow congregants with projects at their houses, or meet for a park cleanup! We can put together a service project for our immigration friends! We can DO SO MANY THINGS AND GIVE SO MUCH OF OUR TIME AND OURSELVES AND IT WILL BE AMAZING!”

I was very optimistic about my ability to organize such a thing given that it is also the beginning of our program year, with new youth group activities launching, new small groups forming, and a youth room remodel ahead in the coming weeks.

Amidst all the preparation for All The Things, Dar shared with me a post by Elizabeth Gilbert on rest.

I do not rest well. Mostly this is because I do not allocate any time for myself until everyone in my house is sleeping and the day is done and I’ve given all that I have to the various causes, critters, humans, tasks and belongings that I have claimed responsibility over. Once no one and no thing is left expecting anything of me, I sometimes give myself a few minutes on my kitchen floor to stretch and maybe listen to a few minutes of a Solfeggio frequency for sleep.

I am usually interrupted by a cat, pawing at my face, nibbling on my hair, and meowing reminders to me that I am never truly free from the expectations of others.

Suffice it to say, Elizabeth Gilbert’s reflection on rest was timely, and needed. It seems all of us, collectively, are at least a little bit tired. Even Talia, returning from sabbatical to lead three worship services in a row, could have likely used a vacation from her vacation. I couldn’t channel the energy to motivate us as a congregation to pledge 60 minutes of service, much less resource projects and opportunities to volunteer.

I joked that perhaps what we needed was a 60 Minutes of Self-Care Challenge. And as it turns out, September is Self-Care Awareness Month: https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/september/self-care-awareness-month-september.

I absolutely love the National Day Calendar, which should come as no surprise because as an event planner and perpetual hostess, I am always looking for reasons to celebrate. Our upcoming service in October honoring Shay will fall on National Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day, and I am in the process of organizing a single day of service for National Cleanup Day on September 20. But a whole month dedicated to Self-Care Awareness kinda seems like what we all need right now, what with the busy-ness, the state of the world, the demands of our time and requests of our wallets, the rising cost of, well, everything. It’s exhausting, and discouraging, and the truth is, the good fights that we fight call us to be in good health and good spirits to do so.

So here it is, my friends, a 60 Minutes of Self-Care (However Known) Challenge. You can pledge your commitment to yourself here.

If you are like me, and can’t help but lean into the “challenge” part of all things, I invite you to check out this 14-year-old TED talk by Shawn Anchor on the happiness advantage.

It’s a funny, thoughtful, evidence-based account of how we’re actually better at things and more successful the happier we are. Happiness isn’t the reward that follows success. He suggests a 21-day happiness practice that includes daily journaling, movement, meditation, random acts of kindness, and communicating three gratitudes each day for 21 days. I have adopted this practice several times since the first time I saw this TED talk 10 years ago, on my own and as assignments in both of my graduate programs. It really does affect how you scan your environment for the good. And that’s not to say it promotes toxic positivity and a willful ignorance of the injustices swirling around us. It just helps me focus on all the things that make the good fights worth fighting, all the reasons why life is worth living, all of the gifts that I have in my life that balance the chaos.

Take care of yourselves, Loves.

Tami

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