Moisturizing = Authenticity? What?
In my book Authenticity Reawakened, there’s a chapter called “100 Ways to Authenticity”. One of the most unusual ways is “to moisturize” and I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain why this made the list. First a little background.
When I was working full-time, going to school at night and raising my children, I had virtually no time for self-care of any kind. My morning routine took exactly 25 minutes and that included making sure that the kids were dressed for the day as well. I was a tired mom and I clung to as much sleep as possible because our babies often awoke in the middle of the night. I wanted to be there for them when they awoke and some of my fondest memories include my rocking them and watching their sweet faces drift back to sleep while snuggled in my arms. Taking care of myself wasn’t at the top of my list and it showed. When I look back at pictures of myself, it’s obvious that I was tired, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I now know that taking care of yourself is so important. And taking care of your skin is an important and loving gesture to give to yourself.
In a blog on HuffPost “Skin: How to Care for Our Largest Organ”, Deborah Burnes points out that healthy skin plays a significant role in our overall health. Skin literally holds our bodies together and as is true for many things, it’s easy to take for granted. Burnes says that “skin covers about 18 square feet of the human body” and that it’s “vital for our survival both emotionally and physically.” In the HuffPost article “When Skin Care is Also Self-Care”, Lauren Rearick quotes Rena Jogi, a dermatologist and affiliated physician with Memorial Hermann Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center in Houston who said the following: “When you do a skin care routine, you’re usually alone, in your bathroom or somewhere quiet, and it’s just you and the mirror. There’s something slightly meditative about just sitting there and taking that 10 minutes just for you.”
Amen! Now that I have time to care for my skin, I find it incredibly therapeutic. I appreciate that my health literally shows up on my skin. When I pay attention to my skin, I pay attention to my health and my health is important to me. While it might seem like a silly item in the list of things to do to be more authentic, I guarantee that if you take some time to look at, care for and appreciate your skin you will come to appreciate how it enables a deeper appreciation for “you”. My book is available on Amazon.com. What are some of the ways that you put yourself on your list?