What Would Love Do?
Happy Valentine’s Day! We’ve always been fans of this holiday. To us, any opportunity to express love and gratitude—for others and ourselves—is welcome.
From a cultural perspective, Valentine’s Day is focused on romantic love. But today, we invite you to consider the ways you love yourself. After all, the relationship you have with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship in your life.
Self-love whispers truth to your soul, even when it’s hard to hear. It’s the practice of making yourself a priority, and compassionately noticing when you’re searching for approval outside of yourself.
How can we use mindfulness to deepen our sense of self-love?
Mindfulness is the practice of being present, of observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment. It’s about awakening to your True Self—the part of you that’s limitless.
Your True Self is not the voice of doubt, fear, or judgment (that’s the ego). It’s the quiet observer within you that sees beauty in imperfection, and potential in every moment. Presence is the embodiment of self-love.
SDG Heal’s Valentine’s Day Exercise:
Choose to create from a pathway of love. What would love do? What would love say? In any given situation, just ask yourself these questions.
Love is everywhere, but it’s harder to see love than it is to see fear. In fact, our brains are hardwired to recognize fear in less than a fraction of a second. But it takes up to six seconds to recognize love.
So, how do you start creating from love rather than fear?
Practice noticing moments of kindness, truth, joy, laughter, happiness, and beauty. These and more are all seeds of love that are all around us all the time. We just don’t see them because we’re often not present.
Pay attention, be here now, and practice seeing green lights in your relationships rather than looking at all the red flags. Most importantly, see the good in yourself and move toward it.
Remember, you are worthy of self-love. When you love yourself, you create a ripple effect of compassion in the world around you.