Saturday, July 13, 2013

Love Yourself First

For the first post regarding "Love" I decided to focus on "loving yourself". Because if you can't love yourself, how can you give fully of yourself to the family and friends that rely on you.  I got up early this morning to join my Saturday morning coffee group at 7am. I had some great conversation with some like-minded, amazing women.

Then I went to a Yoga class. I will admit fitness is an area that I've been neglecting lately. So I really had to push myself to go today.  At the end of the Yoga class as I was having my "zen" moment of relaxation, I realized that it felt really good! I went across the street to another coffee shop and sat outside for another hour catching up on email, phone calls, and some follow up business activities I have had on my list all week. I realized I felt "happy". It was only 11am, and already I had done several things for "me" to fill my cup!

The girls were sleeping in and spending some time with their dad this morning and I sneaked out of the house before anyone was even awake. I realized I didn't feel guilty for being away, because I was spending some necessary time to focus on my own mental and physical well-being. So that prompted the idea for today's posting.

As women we spend a lot of time taking care of our family and other people in our lives. If you're like me, you  feel guilty about not doing enough. It's easy to feel guilty when you're working that you're not spending time with your family. And guilty when you're spending time with your family that you're not giving of yourself enough to your career, or your church, or whatever other commitments you've made in your life. Yet how much time do you spend filling your own cup (without feeling guilty about it)?

A favorite author Rhonda Byrne (author of The Secret) writes this in her book The Power (which essentially is about "love"):

"You were not born to struggle. You were not born to live a life where the moments of joy are few and far between. You were not born to toil in your work five days a week, with fleeting moments of happiness on weekends. You were not born to live with limited energy, feeling exhausted at the end of each day. You were not born to worry or be afraid. What would be the point of your life? You are meant to experience life to its fullest and have everything you want and, at the same time, be filled with joy, health, vitality, excitement, and love, because that is an amazing life!"

And my favorite part:

"The life of your dreams, everything you would love to be, do, or have, has always been closer to you than you knew, because the power to everything you want is inside you!"

That is the truth! You can have everything you want in life! It begins with taking care of yourself, loving yourself. Do something today to "fill your cup" and encourage someone you care about to do something to "fill her cup". Love yourself first!

Love and Prayers,

Sondra

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