September was National Self-Care Month, and we began with a couple of simple questions: What actually counts as self-care? What does it mean to care for yourself?
A nap? Five quiet minutes? Doing something you enjoy, even when there are a hundred other things you could be doing?
But as the month unfolded, the questions changed a little. We started by examining the expectations that shape our choices with the Beyond the Frame theme. Then, by asking the question, “What Actually Restores You,” we talked about the difference between rest and restoration. This led to recognizing that Receiving is a Part of Self-Care and wondering why receiving help can sometimes feel harder than giving it.
The songs considered for the Magnolia Morning Radio Reflections helped explore those questions from different angles. Some challenged familiar assumptions. Others are a reminder that caring for ourselves can involve courage, uncertainty, joy, connection and the willingness to accept support.
You don’t have to agree with every interpretation here. In fact, I hope you bring your own. Listen for the song that makes you uncomfortable. Listen for the one that feels strangely familiar. Listen for the one you have heard a hundred times but suddenly hear differently because of where it sits beside another song.
Mostly, just listen.
See what finds you.
Listen to the full Perspective Playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Min82cwktCfsfJYrHVKaY
Prefer YouTube? Listen to the full playlist here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL1IJffA8C_0
Side Note: All titles that follow the 🎧 emoji were actually used in that week’s Magnolia Morning Radio Reflection post. You’ll find the link to the original reflection before the official video/audio link.
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out — Cat Stevens
There are countless ways to live a meaningful life, and caring for ourselves sometimes means giving ourselves permission to choose a different one.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/yYMQpDCVYBo
Pork and Beans — Weezer
Being comfortable with who we are means recognizing that other people’s approval doesn’t have to determine how we express ourselves.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/PQHPYelqr0E
Lane Boy — Twenty One Pilots
Expectations can become invisible boundaries, and sometimes the most important act of self-expression is refusing to remain in the lane someone else assigned us.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/ywvRgGAd2XI
Make Your Own Kind of Music — Cass Elliot
Authenticity means discovering what feels true to us and allowing ourselves to express it, even when nobody else joins in.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/mraLsg-G4wA
Dare You to Move — Switchfoot
Moving beyond familiar expectations can be uncomfortable, but it can also open possibilities we might never discover by remaining where we are.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/iOTcr9wKC-o
Enjoy the Ride — Able Heart
Life doesn’t always follow our carefully constructed plans, and there can be freedom in learning to appreciate the journey rather than trying to control every turn.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/bq6hu1BT78s
We’re Gonna Be Alright — Switchfoot
Giving ourselves permission to grieve, struggle, doubt and heal is part of recognizing our shared humanity rather than treating those experiences as personal failures.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/C-_cac7fs7w
🎧Falling Down — Bebo Norman
The search for our authentic selves often begins when we recognize that we’ve been living inside expectations and dreams that were never entirely our own.
You can find the original MMR Reflection inspired by this song here:
https://mentalmagnolia.com/beyond-the-frame-someone-elses-dream/
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/6-E2PCbW8b8
Beautiful Day — U2
Even when our circumstances aren’t ideal, paying attention to the beauty and opportunities already present can change how we experience an ordinary day.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/co6WMzDOh1o
Learning to Fly — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Growth can be difficult and uncertain, yet the experience of learning, exploring and moving toward something meaningful can be restorative in its own right.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/s5BJXwNeKsQ
Into the Mystic — Van Morrison
Sometimes restoration comes from letting music, connection and experiences carry us beyond everyday concerns and make us feel fully alive.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/syIUmrSJWAU
The River — Garth Brooks
Pursuing something meaningful isn’t always easy, but the effort and uncertainty of following our dreams can give us something that remaining comfortable never could.
Video/audio (NOT official): https://youtu.be/vOYSSJPBn-s
I Hope You Dance — Lee Ann Womack
Choosing wonder, courage and participation instead of allowing fear to make our decisions can be an important way of caring for the life we’re living.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/RV-Z1YwaOiw
I Can See Clearly Now — Johnny Nash
Sometimes restoration isn’t about changing our circumstances but recovering the clarity and perspective that allow us to recognize possibilities we couldn’t see before.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/b0cAWgTPiwM
Drive — Incubus
Taking ownership of our choices can restore a sense of agency, reminding us that even when we can’t control what happens, we have a say in how we respond.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/fgT9zGkiLig
Deeper Well — Kacey Musgraves
Recognizing the habits, relationships and expectations that drain us can help us make room for the things that genuinely nourish our lives.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/TGkMYMxi-hw
Home — Phillip Phillips
Restoration can come from the people and places where we experience belonging, reminding us that feeling safe and supported is also a form of care.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/HoRkntoHkIE
About Damn Time — Lizzo
Joy, celebration and simply allowing ourselves to have fun can be restorative, particularly when we’ve spent too long carrying life’s responsibilities without making room for ourselves.
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/IXXxciRUMzE
🎧Where the Streets Have No Name — U2
Sometimes what restores us is escaping the labels, limitations and expectations that define our everyday lives and reconnecting with the freedom to experience ourselves differently.
You can find the original MMR Reflection inspired by this song here:
https://mentalmagnolia.com/what-gives-something-back/
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/GzZWSrr5wFI
🎧Help! — The Beatles
Self-care doesn’t necessarily mean care provided exclusively by ourselves; recognizing when we need help and allowing ourselves to receive it can be an expression of self-awareness and strength.
You can find the original MMR Reflection inspired by this song here:
https://mentalmagnolia.com/opening-the-door/
Official video/audio: https://youtu.be/2Q_ZzBGPdqE
What Are You Carrying Forward?
We began September asking what counts as self-care, but perhaps the more useful question is what we’ve learned about ourselves along the way.
What gives us energy? What takes it away? Which expectations have we been carrying unnecessarily? What makes us feel more connected to ourselves? And when might the most caring thing we can do be allowing somebody else to help?
There isn’t one formula that works for everyone, and there doesn’t need to be.
As September gives way to October, we can take what we’ve discovered without turning it into another challenge, another routine or another standard we’re expected to meet. We can also begin asking whether there are parts of ourselves we’ve been leaving out of our own care.
After all, caring for ourselves means making room for the whole person, including the parts we’re still learning to understand.
What have you learned about what care looks like for you?
Take what belongs to you. Leave what doesn’t. And notice what finds you.
🎧🌿
The Perspective Playlist: September 2026
A Magnolia Morning Radio Reflection
Listen to The Perspective Playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Min82cwktCfsfJYrHVKaY
Official YouTube Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL1IJffA8C_0
