Exploring the Different Ways We Can Show Ourselves a Little Love and Care

Yes, we know it’s Valentine’s Day, but we’d like to take the focus off of romance for now and shine a light on something very important: self-love and self-care.Having co-workers who are also friends, who support you and care about how you’re doing, has a huge impact on your quality of life. At All Things Jill and The Apothecary, we feel extremely grateful to be part of a team that does just that. Often, our conversations turn to the topic of self-care and how we can better care for ourselves. One of the biggest perks of working at All Things Jill is working amongst such a supportive team who is always there to brainstorm ideas and help each other follow through on our self-love action plans.

Taking a Time Out for Yourself

Self-love doesn’t necessarily involve a specific activity or method (though we discuss some of our personal favourites below) — at its root it simply means recognizing and acknowledging your own needs. 

Our long-time colleague Randi-Lee (who works in both the manufacturing department as well as the storefront of The Apothecary) recognizes that for her, self-love means taking the time to nourish herself in different ways. This might mean literally buying, cooking and eating healthy food, but it may also mean spending time alone creating art, or giving a bit of extra attention to her personal space, cleaning or improving it.

Pushing Yourself to Do the Healthy Thing

For our essential oils master Katherine (she creates synergy blends for us and also works in the storefront of The Apothecary), she acknowledges that often for her, self-care looks like making herself do the thing that she might not feel like doing in that moment, but that she knows will benefit her in the long run. This includes getting up a bit early so she can ride her bike to work, keeping appointments to address her own wellness, and making sure she exercises.

Some of Our Favourite Self-Love Activities

• Most of us love to sit back in a bath with a book, and maybe even a glass of wine. Jill places a tealight in an empty Routine jar and enjoys the candlelight. Lindsay and Carine like to throw in one of the wonderful bath bombs available at The Apothecary.
• Carine, Katherine and Randi-Lee all find that commuting to work on bicycle helps to keep them feeling their best.
• Katherine likes a face mask as a quick, 20-minute pick-me-up. 
• Creating art, crafting or writing rank high on the list for each of us here.
• Lindsay always feels more centred after spending time in the woods.
• Cooking and eating a healthy meal is a lovely way to show yourself some love.