Self-care is timeless– here’s proof

As a long-time blogger who strives not to repeat herself endlessly, I probably shouldn’t share these with you, but duty compels me to acknowledge the following:

• Everything old is new again.
• There’s nothing new under the sun.
• What goes around comes around.
• History repeats itself.
• We’re all just reinventing the wheel.

Honestly, though, it’s not so bad to keep revisiting the same themes. After all, we haven’t (yet) solved all the world’s big (or even medium-sized or small) problems, so chipping away seems like not a bad idea.

Among those eternal conundra is this: “what is my obligation to self, living in a world where so much is broken and needs fixing?”

We at Fit is a Feminist Issue devote significant time and copy to addressing this problem, encouraging our readers to set aside time for their own self-care, be it rest, creative pursuits, time with friends or family, or just me-time.

Funny that me-time keeps coming up. Unsplash has ideas.

Lest we think the search for me-time is an artifact of our modern techno existence, let me set the historical record straight. In 2012, Turkish archaeologists discovered a 2400-year-old mosaic with advice in Ancient Greek about self-care, from a skeleton. (The article, which I just saw yesterday, is here).

And what, pray tell, does the skeleton’s advice say?

Accompanying the image are the words, “Be cheerful, enjoy your life,” according to a Turkish interpretation. [One writer] reads it as, “You get the pleasure of the food you eat hastily with death,” and believes that the mosaic was in a soup kitchen rather than a rich person’s dining room.

But…[others]…argue that a skeleton “partying with [the Romans] in the dining room” is… a reminder that life is fleeting—so imbibe the wine, eat the bread, and enjoy it while you can.

However, I think they’re both a bit wide of the mark. My hypothesis is that this skeleton is the originator of the timeless categorical imperative:

Or, if you prefer Unsplash’s take on it:

So folks, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, overworked, underslept, over the edge, or teetering on the brink, take some advice from Bobby McFerrin, Old Boney, and me: