I like this prompt. Self-care is important to me. Over the decades I have found different things work well for me. Today I am sitting in my lazy chair watching the sun rise through the window. I drink my coffee and meditate. No, I don’t sit cross-legged, but I enjoy the silence, and I try to clear my mind of the trash. I enjoy finding a period of no thought.

I enjoy gardening. In the desert, this can be a challenge. Yet, with some water and tools and flower seeds, I have a nice corner garden to enjoy in the back yard.

Mostly, I paint. I have always enjoyed studying world religions, the different ideas people have are interesting. I was once a Sufi (a mystical branch of Islam). The chanting meditations are incredible. Once at a Sufi conference in Tucson, a long weekend, I was getting a cup of coffee during a break, and the Sufi Master was also getting one. A minute later as I sat in the empty conference room with my coffee, the bearded elderly man looked at me and smiled.

A woman behind me said, “Oh, are you smiling at me?”

He said, “No, the gentleman in front of you (me).” He looked at me smiling and said, “if you are not an artist–you should be.”

I started to practice painting after that. Today, over a decade later, I paint daily sometimes–at least 4 days a week, for a few hours each day. I love it. It is my main self-care practice.