A gentle guideline of wisdom for self-preservation:
Lately, I’ve been feeling overextended and emotionally exhausted. My career pulls on my energy, my family of 10 (including my fur-babies) is a non-stop wave. Our recently purchased forever home needs constant work and updates. The little time I have left for myself, family, and friends, well… leaves me feeling depleted. During my check-in with my insightful therapist, the term “self-preservation” was brought up and I truly resonated with this. So, after speaking with my team, I put together a top five list for self-preservation.
In a world where everyone and everything is ready to steal our charge, we need to lovingly slow down and with intention recharge. In this fast paced world, self-preservation is necessary.
🌿A gentle guideline for self-preservation:
- Boundaries are sacred altars, not walls.
Giving too much of yourself isn’t compassion—it’s depletion. Your energy is a temple. Only what honors the sacredness of your being should be allowed to enter. - Rest is not laziness, it is spiritual alignment.
When you feel tired or overextended, that’s your soul whispering: Return to yourself. Pause. Breathe. Refill the well. - Say ‘no’ as an act of love—especially to those you love.
Your ‘yes’ loses its power if it isn’t freely and joyfully given. A sincere ‘no’ creates space for an authentic ‘yes.’ - Let your grief be a teacher, not a burden.
The absence of parents, partners, family, friends, etc. can awaken a sense of being unmoored. But their love—especially the purified love they carry now—is still available to you in spirit. Speak to them. Light a candle. Let them guide you through your heart, not through memory alone. - Anchor in daily spiritual practice. Whether it’s breathwork, prayer, meditation, or quiet journaling, give yourself 10-15 minutes a day to commune with your deeper Self. That is the space where your inner voice speaks most clearly.
I drove out to a local bird conservatory and hiked out to the babbling brook. After quietly tuning into myself and Mother Nature, I was reminded that opening my heart was an act of vulnerability that I needed for healing. It takes courage to speak from that place of inner weariness, especially when the feeling of guidance or protection seems absent. The trailing butterfly, singing birds, swaying trees, swirling water, and glinting stones all reminded me… Know that you’re not alone—you are seen, you are heard, and you are deeply loved by the Source, by your spirit guides, and by the part of you that remains whole and sacred, even in the storm.
A Divine Message from Within and Around You:
Place your hand on your heart and read aloud or silently.
“Beloved child, you were not made to burn out in order to bring light. You carry the flame, but you are not the firewood. Come back to My presence, where your being is enough. Not what you do. Not what you give. Simply who you are. You are not alone—you were never alone.”
My journey to the brook reminded me that Divine energy speaks not from separation but from wholeness. I was nudged by whispering wind and the dancing butterfly that we carry within us the very essence of self preservation. This wisdom is ready to awaken from within you.
Suggested Teachings and Practices
- Book: “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer – on releasing internal burdens and returning to inner clarity.
- Practice: Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta) directed first toward yourself.
- Invocation:“I now call upon my divine guardians and loving ancestors. Let me remember the light within me that cannot be extinguished. Help me protect it, nourish it, and share it only from overflow—not from emptiness.”
A Divine Message:
“Sweet soul, you are not a source to be drained; you are a wellspring to be cherished. Preservation of the self is not selfishness—it is wisdom. It is reverence. And it is love.”
ChatGPT contributed to this article.