When we say our book is about taking care of yourself so you can take care of others, what does that really mean?

Well, it means taking quiet time every day. Five minutes or five hours, whatever you can swing. It means knowing yourself and determining your priorities. It even means sometimes putting yourself and your desires before those of the children. While most of the hundreds of women we’ve been speaking with cringe at the word selfish (because more than anything they aspire to being more selfless), each and every one agreed that she felt better–and did a better all-around job–when her own needs were being met.

When was the last time you did something for yourself? Did you feel guilty about it–because deep down you’re not so sure you really deserve it?

Every time I sneak away into a comfy corner to read a book, I feel guilty. There’s all that laundry, those dishes, the school-related paperwork to file… oh, and that book to write! Last year while doing research for a different project, I’d watch Fassbinder films on my laptop (research, I said! Not for fun, no!)… and I always felt like I was shirking my duties.

And then I’d kind of wake up: this was my life, my work, my passion. Why did I feel I needed to justify it… and anyway, who was giving me a hard time about it? I was!

Tell us about your guilty pleasures. Do you really think they’re so bad?

Tags: BUddha

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 at 11:08 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.