This month I've stayed home, saved, and especially not spent on fashion.
Sitting at my computer in too much neck pain to lift my arm to grab my mouse, I decided to check my budget to see if a massage is in it.
Having spent less than usual, I booked it.
The biggest 'money leak' for me is fashion, and then dining out. Entering my expenses into a spreadsheet every month in addition to keeping a count in my head of how much I've spent (this second part really is the key) puts into perspective how much of my wealth goes into clothes that spill across my room, filling my closets and laundry baskets.
In my younger years it was fine to prioritize how I wanted to present to the world. Now that I'm in my 30s, feeling good in my body is starting to take importance over how I look, I anticipate this to only increase.
Harmony Falls in Woodstock IL is where this shop owner spends her massage budget.
On the massage table, I feel connected to the collective unconscious. I think about those who have acheived Buddhist Enlightenment. I really am just a small spec, in the greater universe. I felt connected and universal love pouring out of me and into me.
It's a practice of standing up for yourself and asking for what you need. For us midwesterners, this doesn't come easy. "Let me know if the pressure is too much" – "Actually yeah, maybe not so hard on my lower back." But then, my ego tells me I'm not allowed to give another suggestion for her – I've already said too much.
It's a give and take and its only as good as you show up. Compared to standard medicine, where you're an annoyance for wanting things differently than they are. It makes me angry this isn't covered by insurance for people. On the table, I think that if I was a doctor, I would hire a massage therapist with my wopping earnings, and give everyone in the practice access to it.
Don't get me wrong I still have a list of things on Poshmark I'll pull the trigger on soon... dreaming about my summer self and what she'll want to wear.
