Blog Birthday #2 on International Self-Care Day

Do coyotes need International Self-Care Day? As I watched a pack of coyotes frolic the last time I visited Arizona, I admired their frisky playfulness with one another. From a second-floor balcony, I watched them cavort and tumble over one another with complete abandon. It looked fun! Coyotes do not have to sign up for a class on improvisational yips, yelps, whines or howls. They are considered as extremely adaptable mammals (they eat almost anything) and are faster than humans, running 35-43 mph when chasing food (the fastest man runs 23.35 mph). Are coyotes also smarter than people? Every day is a self-care day for coyotes.

I have never had more than one occasional coyote in my own yard. My neighbor watched a coyote chasing a rabbit in my front yard. He labeled it his Serengeti experience. During winter, I found coyote tracks into my lilac thicket where a rabbit community nest exists. Another day I encountered a coyote in my back yard. We each stopped in our tracks. We stared at each other, as if to inquire, “What are you doing in MY yard?” I noticed Sir/Madam Coyote was well groomed.

Humans seem to require reminders about self-care for themselves as well as for others. Different entities have declared a National Self-Care day (created in 2010 for April 5^th,), and even National Self-Care Month (first recognized in 2017 for the month of September). However, International Self-Care Day is TODAY, July 24^th. The World Health Organization in 2011 chose the 24^th day to symbolize self-care “24 hours a day/7 days a week” with the U.S. Senate endorsing the July 24^th concept in 2014. This international version developed this year’s theme of “resilience, adaptability, and thriving in adversity” — all traits that coyotes seem to embody fully.

Human self-care means much more than a healthy diet with mindfulness and exercise practices. Some individuals are more challenged with self-care than others when institutional and interpersonal discrimination affects them 24/7. Civil Rights activist Audre Lorde explained: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

An article in the New Yorker describes commercialized “Self-Care Planners” and self-care temporary tattoos — shaped like Band-Aids with such messages as “This too shall pass,” and “I am enough.” On this International Self-Care Day, let’s consider how the U.S. might provide affordable healthcare that includes equitable services for mental health along with physical health.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you,” quipped writer Anne Lamont. Time-out, taking pauses for playtime, is self-care, but we also need bigger and lasting Band-Aids.

FYI, coyotes are considered to be a good omen by many First Nation people. Coyotes are believed to be spirit animals. Aren’t all humans spirit animals too?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

205. What actions will you take in your own self-care today?

206. Does this weekly blog offer you any ideas for supporting the self-care of yourself and others?