No matter what we do in life we are likely to feel better about ‘ourselves and what we do’ if we love ourselves. I don’t mean in an egotistical or vain way, or such that selfies rule! But we need to feel that we are valued, that we are nice people and that we give ourselves the time, care and love that we deserve.
Many of my Reiki students come to my courses expressing how they are so busy helping other people – friends, family, animals and other loved ones, that they feel they need to learn to offer Reiki to themselves to maintain their energy levels or gain a natural health boost.
A topic that I often bring into discussion is the one of self-love. I remember attending a course several years ago myself and was surprised to be told that I need to love myself. I was too busy working and looking after friends and family, being a mum, the source of household income, house-keeper, cleaner, cook, shopper, gardener, decorator; the list could go on and on… and on. You get the gist. My point is that I was so busy ‘being busy’ that I was putting aside no time in my week for me. My view had been that there just wasn’t time for me.
How wrong was I? The fact is that there is always time to do what we want to prioritise and sometimes we just have to make the decision and effort to love ourselves. It is important to find some ‘me time’ to do something relaxing, fun or otherwise rewarding for our health – emotional, mental and physical. It could be as simple as taking an hour to soak in a candle lit bubbly bath, freeing up time to be able to read a book or watch a favourite film in peace, making arrangements to have a night out and a night off cooking, going out for a long walk, with or without a dog or shopping and treating yourself to something new. It doesn’t have to cost money but it should be something that makes you feel good. Self-love, however, is also about making sure that you feel valued in what you do and by those around you, that you look after your body (which yes… includes diet and exercise too) and that you take control. We all have the option to make choices and a key one is choosing your attitude.
If life has become such that you are a constant source of help or someone’s support system, it’s perhaps time to take a step back and review your life. Is it time to promise to yourself to make more of an effort to wear, eat and do things that made you feel good; to spend more time at places and with people that give you a positive feeling. This is an important form of self-love and gives you some sense of control too. It can take away the pressure of constantly feeling unappreciated doing things you may feel you have to do but don’t necessarily always want to do. There will be exceptions when situations arise that are forced upon us and we have little option but where options do exist – be free – be happy.
Start being the ‘you’ that ‘YOU’ want to be.
When you love yourself, feel good about who you are and take control, life looks brighter as though the sun is shining wherever ever you look.
Best wishes,
The Holistic Way 