Back in April, I started a campaign called #LiveLove writing blogposts, recording Vines and sharing art as an invitation for us to do more of that, to live love. Today, I would like to share with you some thoughts on what I believe is the foundation for us to #LiveLove. The #HonorYourself principle that I try to live by is, in my opinion, the basis for a life in which we can experience love on a day-to-day basis.
While we have some degree of choice regarding the relationships we have with others, our relationship with ourselves has been “imposed” on us from birth. No matter where we go, we take ourselves with us. We may in fact have a lot of responsibilities taking care of others like our children, parents, students and so on but that doesn’t change the fact that our primary relationship in life is with ourselves. It is evident then why honoring ourselves becomes a primordial aspect if we are to experience love in some of its many forms.
So how do you #HonorYourself? I believe that in order to do that we have to be willing to get to know ourselves. We need to recognize our characteristics, to enjoy our qualities, to accept our limitations, to deal with our flaws and honor them. Let me start out with a few examples to illustrate how I approach this.
One of my characteristics is that I thrive in peaceful environments. For some reason, humans seem to be more prone to aggressive behavior when in crowds. So whenever possible I avoid going to crowded places. Supermarkets at rush hour, movies on premiere night and Christmas shopping are a few examples of situations I avoid in order to honor my preference for calm and peaceful settings.
My artistic expression is a quality I have learned to honor. Over the years I’ve acquired skills that have enabled me to express myself through singing, songwriting and creating projects that promote diversity through art. I believe my work as an artist also enables me to put other qualities I have to good use like my love for languages and communication.
Ironically by embracing my artistic expression, which I consider a quality, I have also had to deal with some of my greatest flaws and limitations. I have been face to face with my low self-esteem before recording a new song. I have cried witnessing the oppression of my perfectionism rob me from moments of pleasure on the recording booth and on stage. So I had to look at my low self-esteem in the eye. I had to put my perfectionist self on my lap and have a conversation. I had to listen to what my “flaws” were trying to tell me on all those sleepless nights preceding a big event. And no, I didn’t become this super confident person because of it but I think I did learn to be more compassionate. And compassion is also a form of love, isn’t it?
In honoring myself, love has been the means and it has also been the end.
•To #HonorYourself one must know this self.
•To #HonorYourself one must adapt to the changing self.
•To #HonorYourself one must accept the part that hates itself.
•To #HonorYourself one must be its own hero, rescuing the beauties often times hidden beneath its greatest fears.
•To #HonorYourself one must face the whole world, if necessary, and stand up for the self only it knows.
•To #HonorYourself is incredibly challenging.
•To #HonorYourself is to live out of love. Where else would the Self derive the strength necessary to live gracefully through this human experience?
#LiveLove and #HonorYourself
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