Over the last several years it has become very popular to advocate for self-care and self-love. There has been a gradual awakening to this notion that amid the chaos of keeping up with up with everyday life, we must also make a pointed effort to care for ourselves mentally and physically. It seems that some of us have become aware that most of our time is being spent chasing the means to an end.  

One will quickly find that the pursuit of material possessions and accolades becomes never-ending and emotionally exhausting. There will always be the next best “thing” to acquire and there will always be a neighbor with a house bigger than yours. So, that bigger-and-better “something” turns into the proverbial dangling carrot which most will spend their entire lives working towards - and will only stop to rest in their final years on this earth. Western society has molded us to believe that this is the blueprint for a respectable life.   

In our plight to achieve this life we’ve been put on auto pilot, just going through the motions, and checking off boxes. In doing so we have neglected to fuel our purpose in this existence. Where did these values come from? How is it that we have come to a place where we need to be reminded to take care of our mental, physical, and spiritual selves. When you think about it, wouldn’t this be the obvious priority? How has humanity gotten so far off track?

Humanity’s Ancestral culture recognized the importance of taking care of oneself, and to do this meant to live life building one’s qualities. They understood the cyclical nature of life and death and the reality of reincarnation. It is in this understanding that today’s notion of the “self” must be reexamined. How can we be proclaiming the importance of self-love and self-care without first understanding what the self really is? 

It is a fact that not one of us would be here without being born from a mother and a father. There are very few things more evident than this. So, at the very least every person has the blood of their parents as a component of themselves - and their parents carry the blood of their parents, and so on. It can be seen from here that on a very basic level you are not just some autonomous being like western society would have you to believe. If we allow ourselves to accept this reality, then we can also begin to accept that our Ancestral lineage is part of who we are, and they must be included in this idea of “the self”. 

It is said that when your Ancestors are doing well then you also are doing well. When the people of your blood who have come before you are being fed, honored, and recognized, they have the power to impact your life in a positive way. By this assessment, self-care must also include the veneration of our Ancestors. 

In the west, the issue that many of us face is that we are educated to believe that life is linear. It is the idea that we are born into this one life and once we die, our spirits go to rest - forever. This mentality makes it easy to live a less principled life and have a lack of concern for the Ancestors that have come before us. 

 This was not always the case for humanity. When Greco-Romans first encountered the Nile Valley civilization (Kemet) they were impressed with the cohesion amongst the people, and their advanced societal structure. They soon discovered that the driving force behind that cohesion was the shared common interest in the advancement of the individual self. 

Our Ancestors understood that our experience on earth was very similar to a test, and that our actions would be catalogued, determining our experience in the afterlife, and having an impact on our next reincarnation. Perfecting one’s qualities and walking the path towards enlightenment was of the utmost importance. Putting yourself first was a common practice and in doing so you were automatically lifting those around you. The Greeks faced a challenge in what they observed because the people of Kemet were not easy to influence and uninterested in the Greco-Roman agenda. The Greco-Romans labeled the Kemetic people “Egoists”. We can see today how this negative view of putting yourself first has been passed down over thousands of years. 

The most recent Latin definition of Ego simply translates to “I”. When our Ancestors were concerned with their selves, they were really concerned with the non-material components of their being. While popular culture may be on the right track in recognizing the need to get back to the self, we must be grateful to know the Ancestral understanding of what it truly means to take care of oneself.