Take good care of yourself

The other day a friend of mine told me she had given up drinking coffee. She had heard that it is very bad for you and so stopped drinking it. Another friend has been told not to eat chicken or drink milk. Yet another has been told to take Vitamin b supplements. All this is about the same thing -looking after yourself. How often we tell each other to take care, to look after yourself. When your children are small you can take full responsibility for looking after them but as they grow up and spread their wings you can only tell them to look after themselves. Take care when riding their bikes, driving a car, going on a journey. We wish our loved ones to take care because we can't do it for them however much we would like to. So we all have to care for and look after ourselves. Arthur Hugh Clough (1819 -1861) was a British poet and also a staunch supporter of Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910) one of the founders of the British Nursing Movement known as the Lady with the lamp. He wrote these wise words about how we are all responsible for looking after ourselves.

On the whole, we are meant to look after ourselves, it is certain
Each has to eat for himself, digest for himself, and in general
Care for his own dear life, and see to his own preservation;
Nature's intentions, in most things uncertain, in this are decisive.

He seems to be saying that if you don't look after yourself you are going against what is natural.
Sometimes when we are stressed and feel we need more strength, more stamina, more wisdom we need to start off with taking care how we eat, drink and sleep.

 

For those who can see it on you tube you might like to listen to The Three Degrees singing Take Good Care of Yourself, from 1975.