Lucille Ball once said,
Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.
You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.
We have one constant companion in life.
This companion has been with us since birth and will be with us until our final breath.
And that is ourself.
We can be a loyal and loving companion to ourselves,
But for many of us,
We are our own worst enemies.
We can be harsh and judgmental,
Cutting ourselves down over and over again.
There are a lot of reasons we may develop an unhealthy relationship with ourselves.
Maybe it's what we saw modeled to us growing up.
Perhaps someone told us an untrue story about who we are and we've carried it with us.
Many of us were taught that the only way to get anywhere in life is to flagellate ourselves in order to drive ourselves ever forward.
No matter the reason,
The fact is that our relationship with ourselves is ours to determine and nurture.
So let's spend some time doing just that.
Take a comfortable seated position.
Take three deep breaths in and out at your own pace.
You're going to speak to yourself.
This can be done using a mirror or a photo,
Or you can simply imagine yourself seated in front of you.
If,
For some reason,
Facing yourself as you are now is challenging,
You can imagine yourself as a child.
Whatever technique you are using to see yourself,
Take a moment and just look.
You are the only you there has ever been or ever will be.
The culmination of your life,
Your experiences,
Your history,
Have resulted in someone that can never be replicated.
You exist as your own unique self and you are worthy of being here.
As you keep looking at yourself,
Send these messages.
I love you.
I'm sorry for the times I've hurt you.
I'm sorry for when I've spoken unkindly to you.
I'm sorry for sometimes judging too harshly.
You are precious.
You are beautiful.
I'm proud of all that you've grown.
I'm proud of all that you've learned.
I'm proud of all that you've overcome.
I love you and I am with you no matter what happens.
Now embrace the vision of yourself that you are seeing as you give yourself a hug and let those words sink into you.
Our relationship with ourselves is like any other.
It needs to be nourished.
Make a point to say something kind to yourself every day.
Allow yourself permission and space to feel joy and return to this meditation whenever you need to reconnect with yourself.
Thank you for joining me.
Have a beautiful day.
