When I was in high school, I went camping in the Ganaraska Trail in Ontario.
For three days, we wandered in the bushes following the blazes on the trails.
We set up camp fires.
I slept on a tree branch on a small pond island.
I heard a beaver slip into the water at night under a full moon.
Whip-poor-wills sang.
It was all sorts of fun (despite the blood thirsty mosquitoes and the lack of showers).
During this trip, it was my job to pump and filter water in the mornings for everyone and then use the iodine tablets to kill the nasties.
No glamping here!
To this day, I’ll never ever forget how THIRSTY I was during that trip.
The water was lukewarm.
Even after the filtration and iodine, the water was still…yellowish (don’t remind me–I still get flashbacks).
We were moving around a lot.
It was summer.
We were all hot and sticky.
Bottom line: I could not quench my thirst.
When I came back from that trip, I drank over a litre of ice water. And you can bet it was the best-tasting water I had ever had! Ever after, I never go anywhere without my water bottle on me.
Why do I share this story?
I tell this story because up until that camping trip, I had never really paid attention to my thirst until it was the only thing that I could think about. I had taken it for granted that I could refill my cup whenever I felt thirsty. I didn’t proactively drink water to take care of myself.
It’s such a small thing to drink a cup of water. But it makes a huge difference.
You are overworked and overloaded. It didn’t become that way overnight.
You say yes to one thing. You don’t say no to another.
You forget to drink.
You think, “I’ll see just one more patient before I eat lunch.”
You cut one more hour of sleep out of your routine.
Each of these cuts add up.
But do you have a Ganaraska Trail experience to show you that you’ve gone too far?
See if you can save a few precious small things for yourself. Explore and see what it feels like to have a habit of taking care of yourself. Save something for yourself that you can enjoy fully and without any guilt.
Drink a warm cup of water while you relax on the couch in the morning.
Enjoy a 5-minute shower.
Take 5 deep, slow breaths.
When you need to use the washroom, don’t ignore the need.
Get the tasty looking grapes–even if they’re not on sale. Just because they are so good.
Read the book that looks interesting.
Open the window and get some sunshine on your face.
Your needs matter. And sometimes, no one else will tell you that. So you have to tell it to yourself.
Question: “What’s your version of Ganaraska THIRST?”
