My Letter to the Ladies of the 50 Fabulous Women Over 50 group.
Today is St. Valentine’s Day. A day set aside to celebrate Love. Love, to humans, is an emotion and behavior that is characterized by intimacy and commitment. There are many forms that love can take – the love of a parent to a child, the love between a woman and man, the love of an animal or pet – all these forms of love are associated with care, affection and trust. But in order to experience love fully, first you need to begin with the love of one’s self. That is the love I would like to speak about with you ladies today.
In order to realize self-love, we must first dig into our spiritual life. Reflecting on this topic reminds me that listening to our spiritual calling is what is needed to ensure love plants its seed in our hearts. A spiritual life belongs to all of us, not to one faith or church. This type of reflection should ring true for those who live outside of the confines of conventional religious faith, as well as ‘ring’ for those who do. Regardless of your position, in order to obtain self-love, I believe it is important to perceive your divine origin daily.
I came across a list the other day that I thought compelling. The article spoke of ways to achieve a higher degree of self-love. Here is the list and my take on it. I hope you enjoy pondering it like I did!
- Be aware of your body. Treat it as if it were a host. Eat organic and avoid harsh chemicals whenever you can.
- Find true Self-Esteem. Believe in yourself and in the abilities you have been given. Trust in your intuition and lift yourself up with inspiring music and activities. Stand strong in the winds of life and chase your dreams.
- Detoxify your life. Remove those persons who deliver drama, negative notions and the ones who do not support your aspirations. If a job you are working-at is a dead end, seek another and don’t stop until you are successful in replacing it with another positive place to spend your hours.
- Give up Being Right. Open up your heart and mind and consider other points of view. It doesn’t mean you have to change your stance; it means that you are open to expanding your viewpoint from a more informed place.
- Focus on the present. Miring through the past is counterproductive. Where your past experiences have shaped you, let the present day serve you from those experiences without dragging the negative hurt or unrest into your daily actions.
- See the world in yourself. Hope is a tremendous thing. Being able to live with expectations can be very propelling. See the possibilities in all things and grow in that manner.
- Live for enlightenment. Approaching all things with kindness will get you there. Learn to speak sweetly, act enormously (beyond the thresholds you have reached before), listen to the songs the universe delivers and be committed to be guided by them.
I hope this list inspires and strengthens your path to a deeper love of one’s self. When we are fortified and renewed in this manner, we rise to a place where remarkable acts are the result.
I have lived a very good life wherein I have tasted fine wine, witnessed the miracle of a fiery sunset, seen majesty in the mountain ranges of the world, and seen unabashed beauty in a sweet newborn’s face…yet I still seek to live a GREAT life, and that is one realized by taking the action of manifesting more love within myself, practicing random acts of kindness, and by demonstrating extraordinary behavior.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all the pretty ladies! Remember Love begins on in the Inside!
~ d.j. posner