Acts of Self-Love
April 2008
Well-ordered
self-love is right and natural.
St. Thomas Aquinas
In recent weeks, I have
become more aware than ever that I have much to learn
about self-care. It's a common paradox for those of us
in paths of service. Continually we encourage others to
honor personal rhythms of healing, while ignoring the
lights flashing in our own hearts. It's true indeed
that we teach what we need to learn. I have come to
notice that, quite often, in coaching sessions I am the
messenger administering the medicine to us both via
intuition and unexpected verbal elixirs.
It has been said before, love is an action. It is a
series of choices. And so, when it comes to shining
love inward, we must compassionately observe the
choices that we make repeatedly throughout the day. How
often are we present to what is alive in the moment? Do
we sometimes override impulses to self-nurture in order
to feed perceived urgencies in our environment? It
takes only awareness to rewind, and re-choose.
True Self-love is hardly a singular or selfish pursuit.
In actuality, it is blatantly spiritual - an act of
reverence for the energy from which you came. Honor
your body as a sacred temple, your mind as fertile
ground for divine awareness, and your heart as a
blessed antennae steadfast in rhythmic dance with all
of life.
We only appreciate our good or evil
in proportion to our self-love.
François
de la Rochefoucauld
It is a worthwhile practice
to meditate on the quote above. It is our relationship
to self-love that guides our perceptions in life. Take
any event in your life and hold it inward in your
awareness. If the light of self-love is dimly lit, you
may see yourself as a victim of circumstances. Lack of
light may taint your view of What-Simply-Is to
incorporate a poor self-image, feeding inner drama and
suffering. Depressing stories are built - not upon
circumstances - but upon forgetfulness of the
Brilliance within.
If, however, you have access to the abundance of light
inside...if you see yourself as an essential aspect of
the light of goodness, suddenly the world around you
looks much different. You will see that each and every
response to circumstance is built upon the choice that
you make in the moment. Heightened self-love results in
acceptance and self-empowerment, and both are
unattached to storytelling as a means to justify
feeling good. Loving the light within is timeless and
unconditional with practice, regardless of what
happened "once upon a time."
Investing in mini-acts of self-love is the greatest
gift that you can give to those around you. Over time
you see that your inner light needs to be fed with
awareness in order for you to give the best of you to
others. So take that walk in the park in the middle of
the day, feed yourself healthy perpectives, and surely
it can't hurt to give yourself a hug from time-to-time.
In re-igniting your bliss, you become evermore
committed to passing it along:
"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared."
- Buddha
Reaching my Light to
yours,
Candice
SIGN UP for
theMessenger
Our
FREE monthly eNewsletter
all
subscriptions are secure through Constant
Contact
View past issues of theMessenger to
learn more