Rainer Maria Rilke was an Austrian poet and novelist who is best known for his contributions to German literature. To be honest, I know of him thanks to a reference from one of my favorite movies growing up, Sister Act II, in which Whoopi Goldberg’s character is trying to help Lauryn Hill’s character find her place in life, and urges her to read Rilke’s book, Letters to a Young Poet. In that book, Rilke posthumously published some correspondence with an aspiring writer Franz Xaver Kappus who was a young military cadet. Kappus was uncertain of pursuing a military career and had written to Rilke for advice. Famously, Rilke tells Kappus that nobody can tell him what to do, he has to figure it out for himself. Playing a lounge singer disguised as a nun, Whoopi Goldberg summarizes Rilke’s finer points by explaining that Rilke had said to Kappus, “Don’t ask me about writing. If when you first wake up in the morning, you can’t think of anything but writing, then you’re a writer.” (Full disclosure, I haven’t read Rilke’s book, so I can neither confirm nor deny whether what Whoopi says about it is true. But the advice, whether fictional or not, has stuck with me for decades regardless.)

Where am I going with all this?

Well, through an unusual set of circumstances today, after leaving school at pretty much my usual time, I found myself with an actual surplus of free time before I need to go teach my evening art class later. (What?! What is this free time you speak of?!) I don’t have to go pick up my kid from daycare today; school stuff is pretty well prepped for the time being. I decided I’d go get a haircut before heading home to figure out dinner or whatever else needed doing, but they couldn’t take me for another hour. So, there I was, wondering what I could do to fill the minutes…

The first thing I thought of was writing. During the school year, especially with wearing as many hats as I do, free time for my own writing is very much at a premium. The fact that I’m sitting in a coffee shop typing away at my leisure right now feels like such a luxury! And so, once I thought I could write – that was the only thing I could think to do with this time. It reminded me of Rilke (via Whoopi). Writing clearly is such an inherent part of who I am. What a blessing to get to indulge myself today for a little while.

Sometimes self-care is bubble baths and chocolate. Sometimes it’s singing at the top of your lungs when no one else can hear you. Sometimes it’s talk therapy. Sometimes it’s hiding under the covers for a little while (just don’t live there). And sometimes…

Sometimes self-care is taking an hour to remember, and celebrate, who you are in the first place.