Are you whacking yourself like a weed, or nurturing yourself like a flower?
You talk to yourself all day long, so if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Much like a 3-year old, the body believes what you tell it. If you tell yourself you are beautiful, healthy, and strong, the body will direct itself accordingly. If you tell yourself you are sick, ugly, or worthless, a world of suffering is created. Your body is built for health, but the mind is powerful…watch your language!
Actively loving and honoring the body is a dynamic process of call and response; a close and evolving interaction. Active honor stands guard and holds your body sacred. It prevents you from beating yourself up, literally or figuratively. It hears negative thoughts (I look terrible, I can’t do this, I’ll never get there) and discards them before the body can absorb and integrate them.
Actively loving yourself means that, in the event of X, you aren’t standing around slapping yourself in the face. When you make a mistake, you fully acknowledge it (and whatever else that entails), and then, you forgive. Self-criticism doesn’t pile up in your closet or under your bed where is disturbs your peace of mind. Remember the Princess and the Pea? It’s amazing that we sleep through the wad of crap we carry sometimes. Temperpedic-schmedic. Believe in yourself.
Loving and honoring yourself means you try your very best to listen to your body and do what it tells you: take a nap, go for a walk, eat vegetables, drink water, smile, stop smoking or drinking, stretch, play.
It’s not always easy. For example, put me in front of the right mango cheesecake, and I rebel. I’ll keep eating just to show my stomach that my brain is in charge. When my stomach screams, “Please…no…not another bite!” my brain insists, “Come on, baby, you know you want it.” In a testimony to how much my body loves my brain, my stomach does not hold a grudge but is very, very forgiving. My stomach is in the moment, digesting with due diligence. My responsibility, therefore, is simple: when faced with the physical torture resulting from the ingestion of mass quantities of sugary, non-nutritive substances, I love myself by putting down the fork.
Love and honor exists in the present moment.
Maybe you hold out on yourself because you haven’t gotten a high enough GPA or a low enough pants size. Maybe you say, “I’ll love you IF (fill in the blank).”
You deserve love from yourself now—as you are. Self-acceptance does not equal stagnation, in fact, it’s a natural accelerator. When you love yourself, you grow with joy!
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