Love Yourself in All Your Glory and Imperfection
There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open hearted vision of people who embrace life. —John Lennon
I love these words written by John Lennon!
Indeed if we could love ourselves in all our glory and imperfections we'd be happier, more at peace and our lives would feel more vibrant and alive. Many of us know this. However, how do we learn to love ourselves when we have so much conscious and unconscious self-judgment and rejection sabotaging our efforts to do so?
On my path to self-acceptance and eventually self-love I have come to see that this process is an unfolding journey. When I was in the depths of my addictions and suffering with deep emotional pain, making the initial choice to recover and take steps to heal wasn’t motivated by self-love. I did it out of love for my daughter, who at the time was about three years old. Having suffered from emotional and physical abandonment by the adults in my life and consistently abandoning myself, I knew that I definitely didn’t want to do this to her.
So, initially, I began my quest for healing and aligned my efforts and actions to take care of myself so that I could be a more present parent. In hindsight, I realize my love for my daughter and the actions I took as a result, eventually helped me to develop self-respect, appreciation and eventually self-love.
Stepping into the world of yoga was my initiation into an awareness of the energy body and how emotions are felt in the body. Up until that time I basically lived in my head and for various reasons, ran from my emotions. As a matter of fact, I believe that much of addictive behavior is an outer body experience, living in the head, and running from feelings.
The one thing I know for sure today, is that true healing begins with learning to live in your body and make friends with your feelings and emotions. This is the beginning of self-acceptance and ultimately self-love.
Over the years I have learned and mastered quite a repertoire of energy healing modalities in addition to yoga. Knowledge and application of these techniques has given me understanding, insight, and ability to embrace myself more fully, live life with a lot less fear, experience more freedom and open my heart to authentically love and serve others.
I’m so grateful for all of it. Acceptance of my darkest moments was the beginning of my transformation into the person I am today, living a life of love, freedom, and service. As I continue to walk my path, I know when my shadows appear it’s another opportunity to embrace myself more fully.
I hope you find it in your heart today to love and accept yourself!
Again in the words from John Lennon:
“When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
If you are struggling with self acceptance, I can help!
Contact me for a complimentary consultation to learn more.
Much love,
Maria
