When I wrote about self-love yesterday, I forgot to mention nurturing self. Yes, I included expressing needs, but it goes even deeper, in actually knowing our needs and then making sure that they are met, by us when possible.
Yesterday, I had one of the best Valentine’s Day ever, and I’m not involved in a romantic relationship. I set the intention early on to have a full Self-Love day. And I realized that I had to add a few things to the mouthful of what I said about self-love yesterday. I will share the highlights of my day, and include the self-love practices:
How about if as today’s self-love practice, you put emphasis on what’s positive and loving in your life, and less emphasis on what’s not working? How about if you transform any negative feedback you ever got, into positive action to make it happen? This is the choice I’m making today, and here are two episodes that happened to me on the same evening.
I have read a lot about the Law of Attraction over the years, and about paying attention to our thoughts and feelings. In my experience, it is a constant practice of shifting the mind, rewiring thoughts, and replacing them with new and healthier ones. It is easy to get caught up in thoughts of drama, of doom and gloom, of failure, of loses. Or maybe it is just me.
I wrote a lot about self-love in the last couple of months. I also practiced every day each suggestion that I posted. Yet, some evenings I just wanted to crawl under the bed and say forget about self-love! I would indulge in not feeling good enough, not being perfect, feeling less than. Then, through a moment of clarity, I would remember that I had tools to deal with those feelings. But I was too far gone to make the moment of clarity last, or to actually use the tools, so I would go back to the familiar – resistance.
I hope you had a wonderful and meaningful New Year's celebration! I had the opportunity to spend it with family and it was wonderful to be in their presence.
Do you usually set New Year's resolutions? If yes, do you keep them? What kind of resolutions do you usually set? If you don't set any resolutions, why not? Take a moment to reflect on these questions and check if setting a resolution for 2014 would make a difference in your life.
As the end of the year approaches, take some time to meditate, to be grateful, to let go of 2013, and to visualize the possibilities of 2014.
As we go through the motions of the end of the year, what it means, and the possibilities of new beginnings, let's take time to smell the roses.