February - Focus on Love and the Heart

Okay - so my focus for this month is going to be love and the heart.  I'll share some heart healthy nutrition, focus on self-love, and loving your life and everything in it.

The first and most important type of love I want to focus on is self-love.  Not in the egotistical way people often think of self-love.  In fact, when we are vein and talk about ourselves constantly, it usually means we are actually lacking in self-esteem, self-love, and self-confidence.  Because of that we often "brag" in order to get recognition.  Who doesn't want recognition?  We all do but when we don't give it to ourselves along with love, we focus on getting it from the outside and anyone who will give it to us.

So, for the month of February, I challenge myself and each one of you to make a daily commit of self-love and recognition through a mirror exercise.  I want you to look yourself in the eyes every time you pass a mirror and say, "I love you, ________, I really, really love you.  I appreciate all you do and I accept you exactly as you are right now!" (Insert your name where the blank is.)

If you are in a private location, say it aloud. If you are in a public restroom, you can absolutely say it to yourself since I may get a lot of funny looks.  :)  If you want to still say it out loud you can use that as a conversation starter and teach others the importance of loving themselves.  When we all are completely full of love, there will be no aggression toward ourselves or others.  When we recognize that we are all connected and all more similar than we are different, we will find peace and compassion.  We all have feelings and emotions, we all crave love and recognition, we all have positive and negative experiences that affect us - we are all here living life on this planet and experiencing many of the same types of things although the specifics may be different.

The second part of the challenge is before bed go to the mirror and tell yourself aloud how much you appreciate all the things you did well during that day. It could be anything.  If you are having a particularly bad day, it may simply be that you got yourself out of bed and went to work.  Nothing is too small to acknowledge.  If you made a healthy selection of food or drink, if you acknowledged someone else and made them feel good.  If you got your kids to school on time.  It doesn't matter what it is - only focus on the good.  And finish up by saying, "I love you, ___________, and I really appreciate you.  I forgive you for all the things you feel need forgiving.  I forgive you for not giving yourself enough credit.  I forgive everyone who doesn't recognize what you do.  I love you!!  You are amazing.  I really, really love you!!"

Try this for the month - please tell me how you feel.  Do you notice any differences?  You may even want to journal about this so you see the difference.  Can you look yourself in the eyes when you say these loving words to yourself? Do you want to cry?  Do you notice a shift?  Please do share.  This can be transformational if you commit to it.

This month know that you are loved.  And focus on feeling the love from others put most importantly from yourself.  I love you!!  Namaste!!