When was the last time you told yourself,
I love you,
Or I'm proud of you,
Or anything nice at all?
We freely give love to those around us,
But when it comes to loving ourselves,
It feels foreign,
Silly even.
Why do we give our love to others so openly,
But never to ourselves,
Or rarely to ourselves?
Take a moment to turn inward.
Say the words now to yourself,
I love you.
How does it feel to hear yourself say it?
Allow those feelings to come through now.
Now take a nice long slow inhale in and let that go,
And now close your eyes.
Settle into your space.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose,
Just getting comfortable.
Being here in this moment,
Regardless of how often we tell ourselves how we feel in a positive way,
Right now you are doing something really nice just for you.
So celebrate the fact that you are here connecting with you,
And taking a moment,
A moment in this day that is just for you.
Now as you breathe in and out,
Think of all of the people you love.
See their faces.
What does it feel like inside to think of them?
Warm,
Light,
Happy.
Imagine how you would feel if that was how you felt about yourself inside all the time.
That when you turn inward or look at your reflection,
That,
That is how you felt about yourself.
How different our days may be,
Or our life may be,
If we felt that love for ourselves.
Take a moment here to just ponder that notion.
Ask yourself now,
Why is it easier to love others than myself?
And be kind here with your thoughts.
Today we are learning,
Not judging.
We are beginning to love ourselves.
So be graceful,
Be kind,
As you let your thoughts answer the question,
Why is it easier to love others more than yourself?
What makes you love other people?
What are the things,
The qualities,
That they possess that make it so easy to love them?
Now let's open the door and look inside,
Thinking about all the things you love about other people.
What do you like about yourself?
And be really specific.
The things that make you unique,
How you show up for others,
The qualities you have,
The skills you have.
Think of that now.
Start to see all that's in you.
The things that others love about you,
When you receive a compliment,
Or when people show up for you.
Start to believe that all of these things are worth loving yourself for.
Even the qualities you may not like,
Make you unique and help you learn more about yourself.
There is no perfection in anybody,
But what is perfect about you is this uniqueness.
That there is no one else that is you.
The way that you carry yourself,
The way you talk to other people,
How you work,
How you live,
All of that is you.
Visualize yourself standing in front of a mirror and look at yourself.
Look into your eyes and really,
Really see yourself.
And as you stare into that reflection,
Silently say,
I love you.
I love your heart.
I love your moods.
I love your laugh.
I love your resilience.
I love how your mind works.
I love your strength.
Now,
As you look at yourself,
Start to list all of the things you love and say them to yourself.
List out the qualities that make you,
You,
And silently repeat,
I love.
.
.
And then fill that in with all that is you.
Breathe into your heart space feeling love and forgiveness.
Forgiveness for all of your feelings,
For the unkindness you may have given yourself.
Feel forgiveness for any past regrets or feelings of lack.
And feel love for all those lessons that made you stronger,
Wiser,
And more comfortably you.
Love yourself fully and first so you can truly feel what it's like to love others.
Because without feeling that love for yourself,
How can we ever fully give love to those around us and receive their love?
You are worthy of feeling that love.
That power is inside of you.
Believe it.
Still looking at your reflection,
Say to yourself again,
I love you.
I am proud of you.
You are doing it all.
You have accomplished so much.
You are worthy of happiness and kindness and love.
I am so proud of you and who you are.
I love you.
Feel those words inside of you,
In your heart,
And know them to be true.
Take a nice long slow inhale in through the nose.
An open mouth,
Just let it fall out.
Gently bring a smile to your face,
Feeling that love in your heart.
Holding gratitude for showing up for yourself today and for all the love that is within you.
Take another nice long slow inhale in through the nose.
Gently let that go and when you're ready,
Open your eyes and come back.
Holding on to that feeling inside of you and have a beautiful day.
Thank you for meditating with me.
