I'm a day late in your inbox this week after being down with a nasty stomach bug. I did work yesterday but completely forgot what day it was since Monday was completely lost. Whenever I'm that sick, I'm forced to acknowledge that good health is something I often take for granted. I'm still not 100% but am on the up.
With Valentine's Day coming up this Friday, I wanted to share some thoughts with you about the most important relationship of all – the one you have with yourself. I just finished reading Befriend Yourself: The Self-Love Path to Peace by Kathryn Remati, in which she says, "We must have the ME love first to be able to spread it out to the world for WE love. You must achieve inner peace in order to spread it around." The book provides tips and techniques to help you cultivate self-compassion, silence your inner critic, and improve self-awareness so you can uncover the love that exists within you.
We are bombarded every day with messages of "not-enough-ness." Marketing ploys are designed to make us feel like we need whatever product they're selling to be better or more beautiful. It's no wonder we get bogged down by limiting beliefs and feel unworthy or undeserving of love. The filtered lives that we see on social media only show what the person posting wants us to see rather than the reality of what is.
We all have flaws and make mistakes. We are human, after all. There's no such thing as perfect. In the chapter on self-forgiveness, Remati reminds us, "You are who you are right now as a result of every decision you ever made. Mistakes are just a kind of experience, and experiences are for learning and growing, not for punishment. So stop judging yourself."
We are all here for a reason, and even if we are not consciously aware of it, we have an impact on everyone whose path we cross. Internal happiness has external consequences. People want to be around those who emit positive energy. Being kind and patient with yourself creates space to be compassionate towards others, making the world a better place.
A simple practice to start on the journey to self-love is by writing down five good things others have said about you or how your friends would describe you. After you've made your list, notice how it makes you feel.
Get to know yourself on a deeper level with our two-part yoga series on the five koshas, layers of self. Over two days, we'll explore each of the five layers using movement and breathwork. This workshop is being held via Zoom, so you can join from where you are. Sign up online to join us on Tuesdays, February 18 and 25 at 4:00 pm Mountain Time / 6:00 pm Eastern Time.
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