Fill Yourself Up- Corinne Rodrigues

As I sit reading a romance novel, nibbling on peanuts, my thoughts start to wander to all the things I could be doing during this time. It seems like I’m wasting my time on something frivolous when I could be doing so much more – like settling cupboards, responding to important emails, or even planning more posts on my blog. The more I think about this, the guiltier I feel. Then I tell my ‘parent‘ to go take a hike, while I fill myself up with something that brought me joy.

I start to think of all the things that fill me up and that I deny myself from enjoying, because they don’t feel important enough.

Fresh flowers – When we moved into this home, I told my husband that he should buy me fresh flowers regularly. He’s forgotten. But why do I have to wait for someone else to bring me the flowers I enjoy?

Watching movies – My husband is not really into movies and I don’t have the inclination to go to a theatre to watch a movie. Should I stop watching movies, or find ways to watch them online?

Snapping pictures – I love taking pictures while walking or travelling and I find it easiest to do so on a phone. But the picture quality on my previous phone was not all that great. It took me two months and a lot of coaxing on my husband’s part to invest in an expensive phone, so I can enjoy snapping pictures and sharing them with my friends and readers.

Reading – I love reading. From mindless romance novels to non-fiction. I get a lot of  free books to review. Jose and I have loads of books lying in our flat in Mumbai. Most of my books in Hyderabad are on my Kindle. But there are some books I’ve been putting off buying, because I’d prefer to have hard copies of them and they are rather on the expensive side. Three months ago, I decided I would buy myself at least  meaningful books every month.

Social Media – While  there is a lot of talk about the ills of social media, I actually have learnt to enjoy spending time there filling myself up. Instagram is now my new love and it’s been bringing me joy and inspiration. In October, I took part in Modern Gypsy’s #TheMindfulBreak and enjoyed sharing pictures and thoughts with others who took part. In November, I did the #FMSPhotoaDay Challenge and loved the creativity it encouraged.

Why am I sharing all this with you? Because I want to encourage you to fill yourself up with the things you enjoy doing.  Let us nurture ourselves. Let us stop running on empty. It’s only when we fill ourselves up first, that we can give to others. As someone said, what is down in the well will come up in the bucket. Fill yourself up with joy!

Make yourself a priority. Fill yourself up so that you can give more to others. – Oprah Winfrey

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Corinne Rodrigues mainly blogs at Everyday Gyaan. She has worn many hats and tried out many careers, but the one she enjoys the most is blogging and encouraging others to write and blog too. She hosts #MondayMusings, among many other linky parties.

This guest post has been written as part of my Second Blogiversay celebrations that start today. NatashaMusing turns two this week, 6 December, 2018.

A bunch of erudite bloggers are joining me in this week long celebration with posts on my favourite genres: Musings, Photography/Art, Travel, Well-Being and Fiction. Mark the following days on your calendar and hop in to catch these soulful blog posts.