Take your shoes off, sit down and make yourself comfortable. Switch off your phone (yep!), the notifications, the updates, the noise.
I want to share some things with you
To whisper these things in your ear
Like the wind
So they'll be with you
Next time and every time you need to hear them
First of all I want to honour your busyness,
I want to honour all the ways in which you have been striving,
All these years to be of service,
To care for others,
To keep everything going.
I want to honour your heart,
Your deep care,
Your courage and your commitment.
Every time you show up,
Each and every day,
Your contribution is valued.
I see you.
I also hear your tiredness,
I hear all of the things you need to do, look after, care for.
I hear that there is no one else,
That it is expected of you,
That you are used to it being this way.
Isn't it like this for everyone? For every woman at least? You ask?
I imagine a whole world of busy overtired women.
Struggling, caring, loving, giving, but exhausted.
And here is what I want them to hear,
It's OK to slow down sometimes,
It's OK to rest,
It's OK to not quite get it all done,
It's even OK not to get it done at all.
By your very nature YOU ARE OF VALUE.
All the things can wait.
It's OK to ask for help,
To not be able to do it all on your own,
To need the help and support of others,
We are social creatures and we need each other.
It's ok to take a rest,
To do something nice for yourself,
To lie down for a nap when you weren't planning to.
To run in the wilds,
Let your hair down,
Dance like there is no tomorrow,
To let things go.
Your replenishment is vital to our future,
And will feed your contribution to it.
It's ok to say NO,
To choose not to do things,
To lighten your load.
You are enough,
You don't need to keep adding to your burden.
You don't have to work harder,
Push harder,
Be tougher.
Everything you do will benefit from your choice to be gentle with yourself, to allow yourself to rest.
You don't have to beat yourself up
And punish yourself on the inside,
For all the things that you haven't got around to.
Let them go,
There is tomorrow,
And the next day,
Some of them might never need to be done at all.
There are centuries of overburdened women behind you, behind us.
You get to choose. We can choose.
This can stop with you. This can stop with us.
Together we can begin to make a new world where women are not always exhausted
And are instead replenished by choosing to care for themselves.
I believe that the women that choose replenishment
And dare to make selfcare a priority,
Are the resilient leaders
We need to create that new tomorrow.
Join us?
(For Debbie, And in her honour)
On 20th September we are running a virtual Away Day that anyone can join. We are calling it Replenish and. It is designed to give you a break and to support you to develop a habit of taking care of yourself. will also give you an insight into the work I do which supports women to do just that. Find out more about how to join us at www.maryannclements.com/replenish
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