Getting ready to start my vows!
Today’s Reverb 10 prompt is: Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?
The one thing that I have come to appreciate most in the past year is myself. It makes me feel a bit strange to admit that, but it’s true. Throughout much of my adult life, I have suffered with the feeling that I am simply not good enough. A couple of years ago (about the time that I started this blog), I consciously decided to work on loving myself exactly as I am.
It’s been slow going, and this is the first year that I have felt real appreciation for myself and the things that I do. This journey of self-love and appreciation is so important to me that I even included it in my wedding vows when I married Tom on May 15 of this year. For a reason that I can’t fully explain, it is difficult for me to share this with the world, but here is the part of my vows where I talk about self-love:
“I promise that I will continue to work hard at loving myself, something that I have gotten better at but have not always been very good at. This may sound like a selfish promise, but if I don’t love myself the way that I should, then I can’t expect to love you properly. I recently read a quote that said: When it comes to the subject of loving others, you must know this: how you handle your own heart is how you will handle theirs. I promise you that I will handle my own heart with love and compassion.”
I truly look forward to continuing this journey of self-love in 2011. And I express my gratitude for myself in an interesting way – I make recordings telling myself how wonderful I am! Ok, so now I wouldn’t be surprised if you are thinking that I’ve really gone off the deep end! But I got this idea from one of my favorite authors, Cheri Huber. I recently took an email class with her, and I highly recommend her latest book: What You Practice Is What You Have: A Guide To Living the Life You Want. There is much more depth to the process than what I’ve portrayed here, and if you read this book, you will understand the importance of the recordings. I am immensely grateful to Cheri for the wisdom and guidance that she has provided to me on my path of self-appreciation!
wow, what an incredibly powerful "appreciate" post. it's so hard to see what is good in us and yet it is the most important relationship we'll ever have.
i've found a quiet yoga practice based in buddhist principles to be huge help in this area.
congratulations on your marriage. and your new relationship to you.
Posted by: Tami | December 20, 2010 at 12:53 PM