One thing I’ve come to realise, is that there’s more to the concept of ‘self care’ than long baths and cups of tea!
Its underpinnings are, in fact, somewhat more complex, and subject to a level of individuality that most of the advice on this topic, takes little account of.
I’ve spent the best part of this year, trying to drill down on what it is, exactly, that ‘fills my cup.’
The conclusions have been many, but one of the more surprising realisations, was that words, to me, are a healing salve like no other.
It dawned on me that the seed for this particular idiosyncrasy might, ironically, have been sown by the movie ‘Clueless’ - the famous teen-comedy where it was first pitched: this idea of vocabulary-development as a cornerstone to mind and body maintenance.
Fast-forward to the present day, and my phone ‘notes’ section is awash with what can only be described as…’word porn.’
Enfeebled
Verisimilitude
Delineate
Embolden
Mycelium
Volt-face
Phonaesthetics
Vertiginous
organoleptic
This is just a brief snippet of the scores of either phonetically- or semantically-pleasing little gems I’ve stumbled across in recent months, and which were just too good not to consign to digital ink!
In most cases, the dopamine hit of landing on these ‘new’ words - it comes from their ability to finally make flesh the inexpressible.
The things, concepts, feelings and ideas for which the right language had always previously alluded.
Over time, this word-collecting habit has evolved into somewhat of an integral part to my (now reasonably well-oiled) self-care machine.
It won’t make sense to the many, but it might well to the few who DO happen to find some strange soul-ease in phonoaesthetics (only part of which comes from the satisfaction of finally being able to use it in a sentence.)