Self Care... With a Lawyer?

A day at the spa, relaxing on the beach, taking a long fishing trip, going for a hike in a beautiful place. These are all examples of activities one can take that fall into the category of self care. Seeing an attorney does not appear anywhere on the list. Seeing an attorney is undoubtedly not the first thing when you think of self care, but if we take a moment to look deeper we can see that it is.

In this constantly changing and busy world, taking care of ourselves and our loved ones seems to be more difficult than ever. It seems that the American culture is one of busy-ness - long to do lists, always connected and available to answer the phone or an email wherever and whenever they pop up. This constant connectedness can interfere with our ability to step back and gain perspective about the why of it all - why do we work? why do we care? what's the purpose? Self care can help bring us back so we can really answer those questions again.

If we each take a moment and think about why we do what we do we can see our underlying motivation. Sure, having a home, food, electricity are all wonderful in and of themselves, but if you are a parent you know you are also doing these things to provide a good life for your children. You need a vacation, so you go to Disneyland - not because you are a lifelong Mickey Mouse fan, but because you want your children to have the experience of going. If you are a grandparent you know you are also working to share life experiences with your children and grandchildren. And for those who are pet parents we know we are also looking for ways to enrich the lives of our pets with comfort, treats and travel. Self care can mean learning to love living life again, which sharing those experiences shows us.

The desire to continue being able to help those we love can be one of our fears with growing older and with death. We know we still want to contribute and help even when we are gone can be a source of underlying stress in our lives. For parents of young children the thought of someone else raising them, and possibly not someone we would have chosen, can be unfathomable. For our pets, not knowing whether they will be cared for or if they will be turned over to the animal shelter with an uncertain future.  That's where seeing an attorney becomes self care.

When we put our wishes and desires down on paper and let everyone know what we want for the things that matter most to us we have a huge burden lifted from our shoulders. We can enjoy more of life, and do more living, knowing that if something happens to us those we love will be cared for long after we can no longer do so ourselves. Once we see what we are capable of, we can see clearly that a visit to an attorney is an important form of self-care afterall.