The first month of this year has come and gone like a hurricane. It came in with a big blast of energy, bringing with it many opportunities, insights, and a sense of hope for the future. As the energy grew in strength and power, much got stirred up, turned upside down and dropped somewhere completely out of place so you just couldn’t help but notice it. Outdated habits and belief systems came to the surface to be dealt with and so did the obligatory ‘unhappy’ emotions.
With January’s energy fading, there is a sense that much was blown out and blown away and everything is calmer and quieter than before. It’s peaceful.
The novelty and excitement of the new year is wearing off and we are finding ourselves settling into the flow of 2009.
Enter February, the month of love.
Now I know that most of us naturally start thinking about Valentine’s and romance but this is only one type of love, and it isn’t the most important. February is about all types of love: family, friends, partners, pets……..and self-love. The love of self it the most important type of love and most of us don’t even know what it is.
What’s is self-love?
Self-love is what all relationships are based on. How you experience and express love for yourself determines how well you can express love for another. I’m talking real love here – unconditional, without judgement, without expectation. It all starts with yourself. You have to know what this means personally, internally, to be able to express it with others.
Love, in its purest form, is all about accepting yourself and others.
Unconditional love is a fundamental aspect of love, but I think it’s very misunderstood. Many think it is loving someone no matter what they do or don’t do. But that’s not it entirely. Unconditional love is knowing that everyone is an individual person and soul, on a journey of growth and evolution. Each of us has our own lessons to learn, our own talents and abilites, our own needs and desires. And at all times, each person is doing the best they can with who they are and what they know, just like you.
Loving unconditionally is understanding and accepting this and allowing everyone to have their own experiences. And this is where no judgement and no expectation comes in. In allowing ourselves and others to experience life in our own way, there is no longer a reason to judge or to have expectations. Judging is saying that something is not right. But if we are always being the best we can be at any given moment then there is no possiblity of something being wrong. As for having expectations, that just means that there is supposedly something better, but what can be better if you and everyone else is already expressing the best they can in each moment?
Can you feel what I am saying?
Once you experience ‘pure’ love, you allow yourself to be you. You also begin to realize that we are all on the same journey, we’re just taking different roads.
Because we share this journey we share a connection; we are all part of a much greater whole and we can celebrate our differences and love each other for who we are.
How to love yourself
Take care of yourself.
Fill up your tank or recharge your batteries first, then you will have enough for those you love. There is nothing to give when you are on empty. Making yourself a top prioroty is the most generous gift you can give to others.
To fill yourself, ask yourself makes you feel serene? Strong? Connected? Write down your answers and regularly do the things on the list that come up most often.
Make time. The universe won’t create time for you if you do not respect yourself enough to make time. Energy goes where it flows!
Define your realm or kingdom. If you give all you’ve got to everyone and everything you won’t have anything left for those that mean the most to you. Decide who and what your priorities are and let the rest go. There will be others who will take over where you left off.
Follow your passions. Doing something you love not only gives you energy but it connects you to the energy of pure love. And it makes you happy! If you’re happy those in your environment are happy! Everyone is happy!
If at first you don’t succeed, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, have a good giggle and try again. Practice makes perfect!
Have a ‘lovely’ month!
May you give with a pure heart and receive with joy and gratitude,
Dora
