Take Care of Yourself

I have always believed the concept that you must care about yourself before you can conceivably care about others. Rules regarding this behavior pop up in unusual places in our society - my favorite is the airplane safety procedures - wherein they warn adults to adjust their own oxygen masks first. After all, you are of no use to your child if you asphyxiate.

And yet - it seems we all have a difficult time with such a simple concept. Take care of yourself.

"I have no time for myself," you think. Well, if you don't - then who does?

So I bit the bullet and joined a recreational center (and promptly suffered through thirty minutes of buyer's remorse). How dare I do something so expensive and selfish for myself?

Perhaps this is the fundamental flaw in humans. That we don't understand ourselves. That we are waiting for someone else to understand us - to reassure us - heck - to take care of us.

(Actually, I believe David Quinn hit the fundamental flaw in humans in his book "Ishmael" . . . but for argument's sake - I think lack of self-worth counts as a fairly fatal flaw in a species). As our civilation heads toward its inevitable crash (only inevitable if we refuse to change) - remember to adjust your own airmask - remember that you are worth something - and for Heaven's sake - TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

This message brought to you by the letter "A."