Is it self-care or being selfish?

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Reuniting with the lost soul that loves to write.

2 years ago

Topics: Self-care, Stories, Thought, Adventure

What's the difference?

Some of the places here in the Philippines are still close due to lockdown. But when the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) was introduced last May 1st, it was less stringent than the ECQ or Enhanced Community Quarantine.

Public transportation is allowed at a reduced capacity and select businesses are allowed to operate at 50 to 100 percent of their regular capacity depending on their industry. Shopping malls are also allowed to operate, although only select stalls and stores are allowed to open.

So some people took the opportunity to go out of their places just to kill boredom. Their most awaited plans of going to the beach or out of town are finally going true.

How about at your place? How is the pandemic? How are you coping with it?

Last weekend, we've gone on a trip to the beach with our close friends. We rented the car from our friend's aunt, and he drove it.

It was a hasty plan of the trip. The boys are really just the ones who talked about it, they were best friends originally and we girls are their partners. Though the one who drove the car has no one to go with.

We stayed at Jam's, she was the one whose family live there at Sariaya. We arrived almost late that night, had dinner, unpacked, and went to sleep to have energy for tomorrow's adventure.

What is self-care?

According to Oxford, it is the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.

And for that, I believe that self-care and being selfish are very much different from each other. Self-care is what we need in this fast-paced time of our lives. To take care of ourselves, for us to be healthy to function well and be in good shape in doing our jobs, to give care for our loved ones, and to do all the things we need to and want to accomplish by the end of the day.

Self-care is not just a way to physically take care of yourself, it also evolved into caring for your emotional well-being and even more so overall healing from mental stress too.

But if taking time out helps you prioritize yourself, your own energy, and healing, are you really being selfish?

Let's see Oxford's definition of selfish:

selfish; adjective

(of a person, action, or motive) lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure.

To be honest, the word selfish has very negative connotations. We may think of being self-centered and self-concerned. And by thinking only "me and my interests" is already being selfish. We are not to think like that instead, we should try to live for the good of mankind, right?

So the next morning...

After having our breakfast and buying seafood for our lunch by the beach after island hopping, we changed clothes and prepare the things we'll bring.

I was so excited because I was hoping that we will go to an island with a white sand beach. Forgive me as I haven't really done my research about the beach where we were planning to go.

It was around 8 am when we bought the seafood. We all went to the port to witness how they buy and sell freshly caught fishes, we even saw one vendor who caught a seahorse. I got disappointed by the garbage everywhere. There are stalls that sell food for the fishermen, vendors, and buyers. There are lots of people that morning and their trash is all around the area, disposable bowls and utensils are everywhere.

It was really disappointing but when we came back later that morning for our island hopping, I saw that the area where they bought and sold goods was a bit cleaned. So I thought maybe they weren't careless after all. While waiting for the boat, we dipped our foot by the shore. We have two children companions, one is my daughter and the son of our friend. They were excited so they plunged into the water, while we took some photos. It was about lunch when we started island hopping, we passed by a group of boats in the middle of the ocean and the boatman said that it was because they were snorkeling. Sadly we didn't experience it because our boat was not the type for tourists, it was the boat Jam's uncle used for fishing.

Beach resorts are still closed due to the quarantine. When we arrived at the supposed part of the island where we will put up a tent and eat lunch, it looks devastated by a storm because the shore was full of plants, debris, and some trash. We thought it was okay to put up a tent there and we did, but later a man came to us telling us that his boss will be mad at him for letting people stay on the beach even though it is still closed. Of course, we packed up to leave immediately because the sun was scorching hot.

We've gone back to the port but on a different spot.

That was where I got disappointed the most. After putting up our tents and building a mini sand table for us to have our lunch, I saw a boy with a shovel walked past our spot. He dug a hole, though far from us, I can still see him clearly. After digging a hole, he later came back with a sack that I figured was full of trash. He put the sack inside the hole and covered it.

Now, you may wonder about the self-care and selfishness that I was talking about earlier.

It was kinda heartbreaking to see how they are deliberately littering on the beach where they enjoy swimming. The water is irritating and I guess it was because of the juices from the garbage that they have put underneath the sands.

I think their act is being selfish because it seems like they're not even thinking of the consequences of what they are doing to nature's gift for them. It's scary to think that one day, that garbage will cause serious problems not only to them but most importantly to the living creatures in the sea.

I can't find the words to say anymore. I just hope that we become more responsible for our actions not just towards ourselves but also to the life around us.

That's all and see you in my next article.