The 30-Day Love Yourself Challenge.
{Photo: http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com}
By Morgan Garza
Her face still thick with sleep
Her eyes, sparkling with dreams
She looked in the mirror and smiled and said,
“I Love You!”
She did this everyday and everyday her heart grew.
She went out into the world with an air of confidence
that drove men crazy and made other women mad.
With a knowing smile, flattery and criticism flew right over her head.
Life was easy and full of bliss because inside she knew all she ever needed, she had.
Love.
When was the last time you told yourself I Love You and really meant it?
When was the last time you felt complete within no matter what was happening around you or who was in your life (or not in your life)?
Practicing self-love is the most powerful thing we can do to improve our lives.
You read the quote all the time, “Before you can love anyone, you must love yourself,” and maybe because we see this so frequently, we have become sort of desensitized to the power of these words and the power of loving ourselves, just as we are.
Love is the answer. Love is freedom. Love is the soul in its purest form.
Love is all we know as babies, innocent and sweet. We love everything (except maybe broccoli and nap time) and we love life. We live to love and we love to live. Life is pure joy. But somewhere along the line we start to lose that. We go to school and learn to compare ourselves to each other.
We grow older and watch TV and compare ourselves with the false personalities we see and think, “If only I looked like her/him.”
Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Think about that for a second…
Don’t get me wrong; it is a very good thing to have a role model or someone who inspires you to be better. Someone who contains qualities you want to cultivate in yourself. But choose archetypes and heroes/heroines who are real.
What we see on TV and magazine covers are outward personalities tailored for the public eye with hours of grooming, layers of makeup, gifted with clothing from next season, personal trainers, and meal plans.
They are not real people, and we need to stop idolizing the face on the current issue of US Weekly and look up to people who truly make the world a better place by being in it.
To give yourself a jump start in loving you, try to see yourself through the eyes of your loved ones. Try to see the magic they see and try to feel the love they feel for you. Write yourself love letters if that helps.
You can burn or bury them when you’re done so no one ever finds them if that makes you feel better, but just try it so you see all of your fantastic qualities on paper in your handwriting.
Sing your praises until you’re blue in the face!
Treat Yo Self With Love!
Self-love is not to be confused with narcissism, however. There is a world of difference between self-love and narcissism. I’m not saying you should be cocky, but confident and blissfully at peace with who you are and what you have to offer. Both women and men.
The poem above is a women’s view, but change she to he, and Boom, it’s a handsome man in the mirror and women who are driven crazy (or men, whatever… you get the point).
Today, I challenge you.
I challenge you to love yourself. Crazy, I know… but give it a shot.
Here is the challenge: For one month, look in the mirror every morning without judgment, without comparison, without wishing someone else were staring back at you. Just look into your eyes, into your soul and say I Love You and mean it. And smile.
It might just change your life, or not… but I will tell you this, it definitely won’t hurt.
*****
Morgan Garza is currently living in Spain, transplanted from Arizona, satisfying a karmic yearning to retrace the steps of a past life and to get in touch with her Spanish roots. She left her corporate life in the unforgiving and soul-stealing fashion industry at 28 to create a life she always knew she should be living. Gypsy soul and nomadic wanderer, Morgan is dancing in the moonlight to a flamenco guitar, swimming in a turquoise sea, living in the light, and encountering beautiful souls on this life-changing journey.
#LoveYOU
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