We can love ourselves but part of loving ourselves is being aware enough to see beyond ourselves in order to understand life’s complexities.
We must look at people and things beyond the filter we’ve created or the projection we’ve conjured up.
We have to reteach and condition ourselves to not be so attached to our own narrative that we only view things from one perspective.
It takes practice to change our story & behavior. Habits are hard to break, especially ones we were taught and we think hold value. Yes, there is no denying it’s hard but it’s not impossible.
My personal curiosity has asked me to step outside my own beliefs in many experiences in my life. I’ve always wanted more unity and in order to create that I knew there needed to be more empathy and understanding.
I would learn by listening to other people’s stories. I would pay close attention to their mannerisms and body language. I would dissect the nuances and details of a persons face. I’ve always been fascinated that we are all the same “Human” yet have also had very different life experiences. I’ve never quite put my finger on what intrigues me with the human psyche but it always has, so screw overthinking it. I do that enough in my life.
In the end life gives us so many opportunities for acceptance and surrender. Even when a person cuts us off, there is bumper to bumper traffic, we lose our job or we go through a breakup. It’s how we view each encounter that determines what we will receive from it. One of the hardest things to master is to not take things so personally. Fucccckkk! That’s a hard one but if we redefine what failure means to us we have a better chance of letting it roll off our shoulders.
We’re not perfect although that’s another daunting standard to manage. Perfectionism is a whole other beast in itself. It can be a constant task that some have to tackle multiple times a day.
We worry about what others will think of us and also judge ourselves in the process. Our expectations love to creep in and have us overthinking every one and everything. It’s a battle that can seem never ending. Its when we learn how to change our energy that we actually change our life.
When we get stuck in these cycles of pain we must listen for ways to change our emotions and environment. Get up and dance. Scream! Sing! Make noise! Move your body and grunt with relief. Take deep breaths and find the purity in your silence. Lift weights. Throw a few punches.....
at a punching bag of course. These are just ideas I know it seems silly but why not try it. When we learn that we are the ones that control our emotions we give ourselves the power. When we allow others to affect us we give them the power and we all know that’s a disaster. Anything outside of ourselves won’t truly fulfill our insides. Material wealth doesn’t equal happiness it helps temporarily boost our feel good energy, but our spiritual wealth is the ultimate key to fulfillment. It’s not easy to learn and teach ourselves this it’s trial and error everyday but as long as we keep trying that’s all that matters.
We know that these emotions are just visitors sent to teach us. We acknowledge them. We sit with them and we try to understand them. Then we send them off with love once we’ve learned our lesson. Anything painful is hard to process but when we ignore it we give it more power. On the flip side when we dwell on it we also give it more power. We just have to do our best to face the reality of it yet also find the balance that helps us cope more effervescently. That balance is different for everyone but deep down we know ourselves more than we give ourselves credit. Our pain can teach us our purpose if we have the strength to keep the door open to receiving.
Start trying things that come to your mind even if they sound silly they might be evolutionary for you. It could be the simplest thing you change in your day. Just try one new thing and stay consistent with it. These new practices will take us out of our comfort zone and into a state of change.
These ideas will teach us to be more compassionate and gentle with ourselves. To be less perfect and more real. It’s a vulnerable and scary place at times to put our true selves on the table. We fear rejection and judgement. We fear abandonment. The thought of How awful would it be if I showed up as my true self and someone didn’t accept me makes us sick to our stomach. We think where do I go from here? My true self isn’t even lovable. That’s not a fun headspace to be in but we’ve all been there. I know I have.
This is why it’s important to show up and love ourselves first, yet at the same time be open minded enough to see outside of ourselves and deepen our experience. Be aware enough to know it’s okay to ask for help and we can’t do this alone all the time. When we expand our awareness we find things that God is trying to reveal to us. We find a sense of peace instead of control. We find understanding instead of disagreement. We honor ourselves and others exactly as we are. We accept that we are all trying to do the best we can and we have more patience with the process.
In the end this subtle awareness helps us to open the vessel of love in our hearts and start covering everyone around us with it. “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Simple yet profound. Love is always the answer to everything my friends. Although our stories are constantly evolving the key ingredient never changes... it’s always love. 💚✨
Love and light to all !