The Garden: Save yourself!

“It is your job to make yourself whole, not perfect but whole. Save Yourself!” – Oprah Winfrey

Then she went on to say “And then offer what you know to help save your family, and then your community, and then your world.” She further expands on the importance of saving yourself by substantiating that “When we fulfil the task of actually making ourselves whole, we’re set up to fully express what we know to now, negotiate, differentiate, to placate, facilitate, to demonstrate and delegate.”  She said a bit more than this but in a nutshell this is what stood out the most for me during Oprah’s speech for Women in the World 2019. Immediately I felt a burden to share with you these words that shook me in the most profound ways.

Save yourself! These words kept echoing in my mind since I watched that video clip of Oprah Winfrey addressing a crowd full of women from all over the world who very much needed to hear these words because truly if anything, women are indeed used to saving the world and every one else but themselves. There is indeed a need to first and foremost honour the sacrifice of saving ourselves first because herein lies our power and I fully echo Oprah’s sentiments. You see for Christianity Jesus had to honour this sacrifice by saving himself first on the cross where His act ultimately saved his followers.  Also, when you have a look at the moral encompass of motivation in the world today you will notice that it also low key preaches the same message in that, we often hear quotes such as “You cannot pour from an empty cup”, “Take care of you so that you can help others”, “You cannot give what you do not have” these and many more all making an emphasis that it starts with you. You first of all need to help yourself to be in a position of helping others. You are of not much use to anyone if you cease to exist or preserve yourself to be used. So save yourself!

What is it to save: The word save means to keep safe or rescue someone or something from danger. To bring something back to a satisfactory condition. Then the Collins dictionary goes on to expand that if you save someone or something, you help them to avoid harm or to escape from a dangerous or unpleasant situation. If you save something such as time or money, you prevent the loss or waste of it. If someone or something saves you from an unpleasant action or experience, they change the situation so that you do not have to do it or experience it. If you save something like saving up, you keep it because it will be needed much later. Now, boys and girls I don’t know if you can comprehend this and appropriate it in your life. Let me help somebody by breaking it down:  When you save yourself you are basically preserving yourself. Saving yourself is protecting yourself, rescuing yourself, collecting yourself or rather saving yourself up in order to be of value or better use later. It means to make decisions that are good for you and avoid treading on dangerous grounds or embarking on time wasting, empty and non beneficial miscalculated risks. To save yourself means to bring yourself back to satisfactory condition in other words restoration is also a way of saving yourself, to redeem yourself. To save yourself means to care for yourself.

This once again proves beyond doubt that the development of one person is a development of a nation. That by developing one individual we have the ability to transform not only his/her life but her life can easily transform the lives of his family, his immediate environment and ultimately his community, nation and the world at large.  You want to see change right? You want to impact others? You want to help? You want to save or rescue or fight for the oppressed? The needy? The disabled? Then you start by honouring the sacrifice of first and foremost saving yourself. You must be the truth, you have to be the respect, the fierceness and the love you want. Self care totally supports this notion in that it encourages us to respect ourselves enough to make regular choices in our everyday lives that are favourable and kind to us mentally, physically and spiritually. When we are in good health, we are then in a better position to add the value we crave to add on to others. No one can do it except for you, no one is coming to rescue you without your consent. It is completely up to you and I encourage you right now to boldly take the step & responsibility of making yourself whole. You can and you will! If not now then when? Life is for the living and living is in the now so the best time is now. Save Yourself!