How do I love myself?
Today I’m reminded of the journey I started a few years ago. It's amazing how when I sit down with other women and talk about our bodies and photos, I always hear the same comments. “Oh I couldn’t believe how awful I looked in that pic.” Or “I hate taking photos, I never look good.”
We are so conditioned to thinking and comparing ourself to some perfect version that doesn’t exist.
How many of you are able to receive compliments about your body, face, some aspect of your personality without finding immediately something that is wrong with it? How many are truly open to just saying thank you and receiving that gift of a compliment directly into your heart space? It's not easy and for many can be uncomfortable. I know, it's something that even I struggled with for a very long time. Part of the conditioning is what we see on TV.
Did you know that every time you watch TV, especially sit through commercials, you are being hypnotized by media? Yes, what I am saying is true. But it's not a positive way that you are being subconsciously affected. It's adding to what insecurities already existed within you. Only now, it's amplified.
One of the things I’ve worked really hard on and still do everyday is when I walk by a mirror I stopped bashing what I see. We are all works of the Creator/God or whatever you want to call the higher power you might believe in. Okay, maybe we made some decisions about the food we ate and stretched our bodies. Just refocus and try to eat healthier. Maybe you have been in the gym and tirelessly trying to get off that weight from your recent baby, or maybe from the baby you had 8 years ago, as is my case. It has been a difficult road for me but does that and should that mean that I should hate my body? It's a sacred space that holds my very soul. Shouldn't I find ways to honor it? If you think about how consciousness can affect us positively or negatively, you find that when we bash our bodies for not looking "ideal", we are in fact sending negative energy back at ourselves. This kind of self sabotage does not help our process but hinder us from reaching our goals. How so? Because we bash ourselves, then we feel terrible, then we emotionally eat things that are not healthy and the vicious cycle repeats. So how did I break this spell and begin to start loving myself again? I started making healthy choices. I got on a plan that would repair my metabolism, and told myself, I am doing what is in my power to help heal my body. So what the scale says really doesn't matter. Now, I'll be honest, I still have to tell myself this every day, but it's a better alternative to beating myself up for my body not doing what I need it to do.
Baby steps are better than none. There are better ways to deal with our problems than to beat ourselves up about them. Another thing I started doing last year and really helped me, was every time I walk by a mirror, in addition to no longer being mean and pointing out my flaws, was to instead find something I loved about myself. That was what I focused on. And every day I would say, "I am beautiful because..." I would also say to myself, "I love you" For a good few weeks, I cried when I said this to myself. No lies. But it's now easy to look in the mirror and no longer judge what I see, but remain compassionate toward myself and accept it.
How amazing would it be if we spent our time asking ourselves. “What am I doing with my life? And why is it so important that I look a ‘certain’ way?” We were all created differently. And to be honest your body is just a container for a beautiful you. Every one of us is a spark of the Creator. And so we are all beacons of LIGHT. If we spend so much time focusing on that vessel which contains the Light you are instead of looking beyond it and inside, then, we will never get to the substance of life. Transformation. Being a better version today of the person you were yesterday. Why? Because its in that transformation that we open up new worlds of existence and creating lives that make us truly happy. Don't you want a happy life?
Can you say you thought of someone else today? Did you do a random act of kindness? Did you share an inspiring message with someone? Help a perfect stranger? Worked to overcome that fear? Offer an ear to a friend? Not judge someone when you wanted to? These are the questions worth thinking about. Worth working to answer. In the end, what will that body do for you? If you say it will make you happier then you have to dig deeper. Because you’re not happy with something else.
Maybe you’re still harboring a grudge against a parental figure from years past. Or a friend, boss, coworker. People, it's time we stopped focusing on the surface to avoid digging deep. Today I hope you’ll all hear me and my heart. Focus on that Beautiful You. Because I love you and I don’t even know you. Why can’t you love you too?
Blessings and Light to you all.
