Fruitful Journal
Love Yourself
Sitting in the cafe while writing this entry on loving yourself, I saw a woman sitting in front of me with a tattoo of a silhouette of a woman’s upper body shaped like a heart (and resembling a strawberry), with her arms crossed hugging herself, and the words that read, “love yourself.” I guess this is a human quality we are all after and must take it one day at a time. We are never alone on this journey and sometimes the real enemy is internal. We are here to create and remind ourselves (and others) what is truly important: loving yourself.
I have discovered self-love more deeply by embodying it with action. How can you connect to self-love and embody it? Read on to find out.
What does loving yourself look like and feel like to YOU?
First we must look at what loving yourself looks and feels like on YOU.
Close your eyes and see the person you want to be. What are her/his thoughts? How does she/he feel? What is she/he wearing? What are her/his habits? Take 7 minutes to do this exercise. Write down in detail what came up for you.
Take a look at your life and see where you can be more loving and do hard things that will bring you a brighter tomorrow. This is where you get clear on what you want your life to look like and commit to be the BEST YOU with her/him in your mind’s eye.
Fear
What you should really fear
We can’t talk about self-love without talking about fear. The thing that often blocks our self-love is fear. Fear of what others might think of us, being shut down, being seen as too much, or full of ourselves. These fears all come from the mind and we know that fear is not true. It lies to us. We find that the world is a lot less scary when we get out of our heads and into it.
“The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love”
Psalms 147:11
The true fear is not living and walking the path God has prepared for you that only you can see and walk, because of a lie your mind told you.
But why would we fear a loving God? Remember fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is a balanced mind, body, and soul. When we are close to God we are loving ourselves and others. We are fearful to not act against God because we will push Him away and move from love. We love ourselves so much we know we are worthy of giving this love to ourselves (receiving from ourselves) by keeping this sacred connection with God, and thus our true self. He is leading the way, we are His children following. The unfolding of love in all areas of your life will require trust in yourself and God.
Love speaks with action
Action Self-Love
Love speaks with action and responds accordingly, because love is a verb. Therefore, act with love in all that you do. This leads to an easy life. Yes, there will still be ups and downs, but your center becomes internal. So even during the storm you are having fun armed with self-love, because the only certain thing in life is change. And we know love is change and all things are happening for our betterment. This is evolution.
In the spirit of keeping it light here are three songs I use to connect to self-love that remind me life is good at my pace:
Sheesh! By: Surfaces, Tai Verdes
SUPERBLOOM by Misterwives
YOUR Pace By: Forrest Frank
In closing, love is patient. Love is kind. You are the love of your life, be patient with your lessons and know you are always on time. Exactly where you are meant to be learning and growing at your own pace.
Love,
Jessica
