Yesterday I had the great pleasure of going to a hair and beauty establishment to enjoy one of my Christmas presents - 3.5 hours of pampering. It started with a Swedish massage, followed by a facial and hand and feet treatments. Then a hair cleanse, cut and blow dry. The people running the salon were very professional and really lovely and the whole experience was utterly delightful.
Enter evil little creature from stage left, who suggests "wouldn't it be great to be able to do this all the time!". Mmmm - if I booked in every couple of months and limited my expenditure to say $150-$200 each time (which includes the hair cut, etc), I may be able to afford it.
Enter rational brain from stage right - "but then you'd end up spending in excess of $1000 a year and isn't that a lot simply to spend on vanity? And what about important things like water tanks and chook sheds and wicking beds, eh?"
"Oooh, but I do work hard and study hard and then juggle all that with home, don't I deserve a little pampering every so often?"
"Well, you could do your own."
"But it's not the same."
How often do we all have conversations like this with ourselves? How often do we deny ourselves some pleasure in the pursuit of the bigger environmental sustainability picture? Are we doing ourselves a disservice?
Or is it simply that having been pampered, I want more and the consumerist devil which lurks somewhere beneath the surface of all of us is just too ready to emerge at the slightest provocation? Does pampering lead to discontent? After all, I probably would never have entertained these thoughts except for being pampered.
love and light
naturewitch
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9 comments:
Good question NW, one to which I suspect the answer to is different for each of us :)
What a neat post! So honest and down-to-earth.
Hmmmm, let me see. I don't believe you'd be discontented if you enjoyed pampering once in a while. I think if it became a scheduled thing, then it wouldn't be so special. So, feeling special and pampered is wonderful. It keeps us happy and boosts morale. Then we can spread it around.
Oh, I do understand those little devils who like stirring us up with their tug-of-war comments, trying to make us feel guilty for indulging and yet telling us we're entitled to it. Lol!
Glad you enjoyed your special day.
lol, I've had these kind of conversations with my mum a *lot* over the years and as I'm getting more wrinkly am finding myself agreeing with her... pretty much what Wendy said, that when something is special it's treasured, when it's expected or "normal" it may not be so appreciated - and then we go looking for something more to give that lift.
That's one of the things I've come to appreciate about seasonal eating - that when the peaches (or avocadoes or cherries etc) are in season, they will only last for a while and then be gone again till next year, and I'm much more appreciative and conscious of their yumminess right now :)
But I still have those conversations with myself regularly ;)
On the ball again NW!
I have those conversations on a regular basis
"Oh I could join a gym to shift some weight, get me motivated etc but that money could really go towards stuff for the kids/garden/house and I could walk for free"
For me, it's where I place myself on my 'list'.
Maybe with the pampering session, rather than every two months you could do one say, twice a year?
I have a guilt complex that makes it hard for me to enjoy myself and relax, unless I think I have earnt it by doing enough hard work to justify it! But, when I know something isn't good (for me, for others, for the environment) than no amount of justification can help me enjoy doing it!
I get more satisfaction from 'doing the right thing' than I ever would from beauty treatments & massages/ fashion shopping/ lavish dinners out etc. But everyone is different, and has a different idea of what is 'right', and I also think there is nothing wrong with having treats or rewards! Simple, earth-aware, practical indulgences. I might buy a lovely organic bath wash (which lasts me a long time, LOL) or a trip to the Farmers Market and get something yummy, or treat myself to some lovely fabric!
It's all relative, I suppose. If you had the monthly beauty & hair treatments, soon, they might not seem quite as exhilirating as having it done only once or twice a year!
Hi Naturewitch,
Sorta..
To me it tends to say you don't have enough pampering in your relationships to meet your needs atm.
Could the scheduled professional "spa day" be replaced with a rotating "girls day" where you all either pamper each other, or just focus on one of you, and have a light hearted time and make each other feel loved and special.
Consumerism and marketing work because it hooks into a real emotional need and then ties feeding that need to a product. To me it would be a clue to sit down and write a list of what I loved about the day and look at why those things are important, ie do I not have enough of it in my life already?
Kind Regards
Belinda
Hi naturewitch.....I had some pampering on our recent holiday in Cornwall. Not something I would normally do but I loved it. For me personally it is a once in a while treat.....and when I really need it.
For me personally, eating healthily, exercising, and meditation are the things that work.....
Hi Naturewitch,
I agree with the other commenters that your pampering day seemed so special because it's something that you do so rarely.
The whole marketing ploy of "pampering" and "you deserve it" kinda makes me sick. Not that we don't deserve to feel special, just that it's not something you can buy.
take care
Dear All
Thanks for your comments - thought provoking.
I think that really I like the idea of being pampered much more than the reality. It's lovely to have the treat occasionally, but the real me quickly gets a bit bored sitting around while numerous treatments are being performed. And I cringe when I think of wasted daylight hours.
But, there is a little kernel of truth here and it revolves around having the time (and money) luxury to sit around doing nothing productive. Maybe I need to get back to meditating instead! xx
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