Self-care. Good grief, who has time for that? It seems a little selfish too, doesn’t it? When there are so many people who need your help, how can you take time for yourself? Unless you just don’t want to admit that the world may not fall apart if you take your eyes off of it for a minute.

When we, in Alberta, use that phrase at all, it’s usually in conjunction with performing better at our jobs. Feel better so you can do your job with less complaint. Although that can be a happy side-effect, it isn’t the point. We have this never-ending tendency to spin things in terms of productivity, so we can quantify our existence by what we add to the economy. However, health and well-being is not about being productive. It’s about feeling better so you can be more fully present for your life both inside and outside of your job.

I think our society has to undergo a paradigm shift. Profit can no longer be king – it has to be reduced to a pawn or something. Bad things tend to happen in the pursuit of profit. Remember Enron? Morals and values are cast aside to justify making money. In our personal lives, we let our health suffer and our families go without us to bring in that income. The income is important but it is not the most important point of us.

If you’ve practiced self-care in any form, you’ll understand the value of slowing down and being present. The moment you’re in right now – it’s your life. Are you paying attention? We get to live it just this once. Don’t let it go without getting every moment of joy, pain, laughter, anger, and contentment that you can from it. At the end when you look back, I doubt you’ll wish you had put in more hours at the office.

Keri lives, and takes lots of time for herself, in Boyle Street.