A Wren Says

I sat down at the table and ordered a plate of Portabello mushroom ravioli. I came to the restaurant after having had a rough few days, frankly feeling sorry for myself. When I feel low, when my mind is in particularly dark spaces, I take the time to buy myself something. That day, that thing was a good meal.

The service started with bread and olive oil that had mashed olives mixed in. I have never been a fan of olives, but there I was scooping it up, enjoying the flavors.

I finished my pasta dish, relishing the sundried tomato cream sauce. And yes, it was delicious. But the exquisite flavor was tempered by a thought: Why do I wait until things go wrong to finally treat myself right? Why wait until things get dark before I bring in the light?

I don’t think a fancy meal is always treating yourself well. Of course, there is more to it. My point is that I recognize I need to figure out how to consistently care for myself, but it’s hard. Maybe you like me wait for a health scare before taking yourself to the doctor or fixing your diet. Maybe you wait until you lose your job to start mindfully spending and budgeting. Or you wait until you get stranded in a foreign country to finally start learning the language.

We all have those little things we could be doing that would make our lives better. How’s about we start doing them now, before it gets too late.