Something You Can Fall Back On
おちこんでいるときには、どうしたらいいか、
いつかの方法を決めておくと便利です。
これはぼくが独自に考えたことなのですが、
胸の上のほう、鎖骨の下ぐらいのところに手のひらを当てて
じわぁっと温めるのは、とてもいいです、理由は知らない。
ー糸井重里が『今日のダーリン』の中で
At times when you're feeling down, when you're unsure about what to do,
it's useful to have a strategy put in place for that time.
This is just one I came up with myself, but
placing your palm above your chest, approximately below your clavicle,
letting it get gradually warmer, feels very good — I don't know why.
— Shigesato Itoi in "Today's Darling"1
I love quotes. I love journaling. I love journals that include a quote in their pages, so I'm always looking forward both to the quote in the Hobonichi App and to the one on my physical journal; the latter is in Japanese2, so what I actually do is often catch up with the quotes when I have some free time and transcribe a shaky translation3 on the side. This one was a good excuse for a post.
Do you know how to take care of yourself? Me, for a long time, I didn't. Even now I have some doubts, especially when I'm in distress (which is exactly when you should be taking care of yourself). I like to think of self-care in a state of extreme hardship as doomsday prepping, and this quote sounds exactly like it. For example, I know that moving my legs (a fast walk does wonders) and drinking something warm always help a ton: sometimes, I just can't calm down unless I do it! Curiously, I also tend to do that thing Itoi does.
Focusing on a list of things to do is also good for taking your mind off of stuff outside of your control. I have productivity brain disease4 so seeing a series of self-soothing activities as a checklist makes my heart sing. Yes. I'm being good at taking care of myself. I will get good grades for this.
Figure out what to fall back on in advance, then just do it when the time comes, no guilt. You planned for this, it's gotta make sense. Just focus on being kind to yourself, the rest will come tomorrow.
My Japanese is pretty shaky, but I wanted to attempt a translation myself anyway. The original text is up there for transparency, although this quote is just an excuse to write about the thing.↩
I use a Day Free, as I've said multiple times in this blog, and those are only available in Japanese... for now!↩
I mostly MTL them, but even though it's for personal use it doesn't sit well with me. It's one of the reasons I'd like to switch to an English one next year... plus, reading the official quotes on the app and realizing which ones are also on my Japanese journal really make me appreciate the work the translators put into it.↩
It's why I've thought for years that relaxing means "taking off your to-do-list the next thing that's less stressful than the one that's stressing you out".↩