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Taking My Own Advice, or Post 1

Daily reminder at my house.

Be a Fountain

Every year on Mother's Day, my family braves the unusually hot St. Louis-in-May temperatures to visit the annual art fair in Laumeier Sculpture Park. Some of us are there for the art while others are there for the food trucks, but we all enjoy it until we are sweaty and tired and have to be in air conditioning.

I don't usually buy anything, but this year, I passed a booth with framed prints. They were simple, inexpensive, and yes, a little trendy (see palm fronds). I wasn't planning to buy, but before we left the art fair, I broke away from my family and went back to buy this print, which I hung in a place my family members were sure to see.

Why I Need a Reminder

Selfishly, I bought the print as a stand-in for me. I'm constantly reminding my kids not to complain, to be grateful, to be thankful, to be kind to others, to be giving, to be less selfish. "You are so lucky," I say to them. I thought this would be a simple little reminder to reinforce my nagging encouragement. 

But a few days after hanging the print, I realized I needed the reminder more than anyone, not just because I set the example for my kids, but because I was guilty of being a drain and was definitely selfish. 

Like a lot of people, I was broke, struggling, and floundering as a young adult. Once I was past the most intense struggle and had some time and opportunity to "treat" myself, I appreciated the little perks and comforts I could provide for myself. And while this sort of self-care was needed at one time, somewhere along the line, self-care became self-indulgent and self-centered. What began as a healing mechanism turned into a problem.

I realized that I bought the print for myself, as a call to action to do better for others every day. Sometimes I fail, but each day I am reminded to try again, to do better than I did in the past, and to work toward being less selfish and more generous. "You are so lucky," I say to myself, and I use it as encouragement to get out of my own head, and give more to other people.


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