Valentine’s Day is a wonderful time that reminds me of huggable bears, heavenly chocolate, beautiful roses, and bright pink-and-red balloons.
It’s a time when we as youngsters crafted ingenious boxes and exchanged store-bought valentine cards with glittery pictures of our favorite cartoon characters.
It’s the day when I can expect a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the first man in my life: my one and only Daddy.
I’m all about Valentine’s Day! I’m all about celebrating romance, candlelight, and heartfelt gestures.
Yet, this year, Valentine’s Day seems to have a new feel to it.
This year, I am focusing even more on the one love that seems to be in the needing-improvement pile of stuff-to-do in the back of my head: the love I show toward myself.
Over the past week, I’ve realized the necessity for self-care in my current day-to-day life. I’ve roped myself forcibly into completing assignment after assignment, in hopes that the more I do the better I will feel. And, in some ways, the sense of accomplishment does feel rather great.
However, when you find yourself ignoring your body’s desperate pleas to literally SIT DOWN for a moment, you realize that something is amiss.
I want the inside of my head to be a lovely, joyful, inspiring place to be. I want my mind to be full of creativity, laughter, and imagination.
Yet, right now, my head feels consumed with to-do lists, ever-raising expectations, and restlessness.
Inside my head is not a very happy place to be right now.
I would love to change that.
One idea taken from an article I read recently for a class has really stuck with me this week: “The joy of [life] comes from the love of it.”
If I want joy, I have to pursue love. I have to find it, even if it is buried mile-deep underneath countless pressures and commands.
My slave-driver inner-critic has had her reign for a while now, and I think it’s high time that I start a rebellion. This rebellion comes, for me, in the form of self-care.
If you’re like me, thinking about doing things for yourself seems like a big fat waste of valuable productive time. Yet, this is EXACTLY why I need to make it a priority.
Here are some ideas that I am working on at the moment to give myself a little more love:
Notice when I do something well, and give myself a hearty “Good Job!”
Pay attention to my body– when I’m tired, I can gracefully invite myself to enjoy a moment’s rest.
Continue to fuel myself with good foods, good words, good company, and good sleep.
Treat myself like a beloved child who needs to be cared for– as one of my favorite bloggers suggests.
Hardest of all, I will attempt to see myself through the eyes of love. I will try to see myself as my own best friend. I will try to see myself through the eyes of the one who loves me unconditionally.
If I can manage to get there, I will hopefully experience a bit more joy and a lot more love in my everyday life.
I hope you will join me on this quest for giving love to the one in your life who possibly needs it the most!
Happy Valentine’s Day, from me and my friend the massively fuzzy valentine’s caterpillar! <3
“You are nature. You are already perfect, peaceful, and powerful. You don’t need to become anything. You simply need to remember yourself.”
― Vironika Tugaleva