When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough... Get a Massage!

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. George Bernard Shaw "

So, I am a die-hard optimist. Really, I believe that any and everything is possible and stand by my favorite Flashdance quote "When you give up on your dreams... you die" (Boy Michael Nouri was a handsome young man. Anywho...) But even I, the eternal optimist floating through life on a hot-pink-tinted-silver-lined cloud, have my bad days.

As I have stated before, I am an actress and writer, living out here in Los Angeles a city where anything can happen any day. At 2pm you can call a number of friends or associates and grab an early afternoon martini. The home of sandy haired surfers and $25 Brazilian bikini waxes. One day a girl is walking the streets of Hollywood the next she's riding shotgun in a silver Lotus shopping til she drops on Rodeo Drive. Multi-cultured, environmentally friendly, vegetarian, 80-degrees and clear...My kind of city! But even in the City of Angels, sometimes fighting the good fight of your hopes and dreams can leave a girl a bit battered and bruised. Especially when you haven't had a paying calltime in several weeks (and I won't go into what several is.)

I mean, how the hell am I supposed to pay for my happy-hour-martini-induced-brazilian-bikini-wax and make it to the beach in time to ogle at the sandy-haired surfers on my three night a week comedy club waitress salary and a three month passed due cellphone bill? Times like this it is easy for one to have a perfectly timed meltdown. We all know that sometimes the best thing for your soul is to have an all out cry-fest. I mean snot-dripping, chin-quivering, can't catch your breath for the life of you, cry yourself into a sorrow induced ball at the bottom of your shower. Other times it is best to hit the ground harder, work extra long hours, push yourself to the limit and then two steps farther! But I have learned that their is also another option. Take your overworked-under-paid hiney to the spa. Yeah I said it.

It is time for woman around the world to take better care of themselves. And I for one am starting a trend! Treating myself like I would like a man to treat me: with love, adoration, and the occasion indulgence, make that over-indulgence. Maybe not everyday, but every once in a while for sure. So, after a particularly stressful week of hard work to seemingly disappointing results I checked myself into the Pasadena Burke Williams for a spa day, cellphone bill be damned!

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Ladies, I know, it sounds abit immature. How dare a woman who hasn't paid her bills go out and treat herself so excessively. And what do I say to that? Bah Humbug. If you let us, woman will take care of absolutely everything and everyone else until fibroids, breast-cancer, or a nervous breakdown forces us to take care of ourselves. By then it will take much more than a $55 calming-detox wrap to get back in order. So many women lose years of life to making sure that everything and everyone else is in line. Well, I for one don't want to look up 20 years from now rough and ragged, because I'll tell you a secret that I am learning: If you ain't together, the appearance of everything around you running like clockwork is just a facade, and it will all come crumbling down with you when you finally break.

"Not I," said the fly.

Let me calm myself down before I scare you away. It's easy for me to get all Malcolm on this issue, but realize that this here is a peace movement. I am not suggesting that anybody spend the rent on a weekend in Ocho Rios, Jamaica having your feet rubbed by a half-naked Mandingo while you sip Sangria on a white sands beach. What I am suggesting is that you put yourself first at least once a month - ahead of bills, ahead of the job, ahead of the stress. Take a day to refocus on your purpose, your goals and your dreams for yourself. A simple pedicure, manicure, or lunch at your favorite spot could be enough. It's time to burn the 'good' candles for yourself! I promise, If you take the time to focus on what the big picture of your life is, you'll figure out the small issue like paying your cellphone bill. Trust.

As for me, I didn't leave my spa day to a voicemail full of bookings from my agency, but I did leave feeling refreshed, regenerated and refocused feeling like my mind and body had returned to complete harmony. And according to Sallust, "Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay.” Like sanity.

In honor of making ourselves the Queen of our lives for one day, and to put it all into a little perspective my Cause Fabulous for this week is: Queen for a Day® a 501 (c)(3) non-profit. This beautiful organization takes pediatric cancer patients and takes their mind off of there day-to-day trials by offering them quality of life services. They pamper girls with make-overs, manicures, and a 'coronation ceremony' where each girl is crowned as a champion over her illness with a tiara donated by a pageant titleholder. They also treat the boys with hero-themed gifts, reinforcing bravery and courage through police officers and firefighters. That is fabulous on a whole 'nother level ya'll.

To donate to this fantastic organization please click here, or go to: http://www.qfad.org/home.htm