You have to look at the most vulnerable parts of yourself in order to even come close to loving yourself fully

The surface level solutions for self love like face masks, bubble baths, a night in, and treating yourself are lovely and can be implemented proactively and as needed

But we must also be willing to go into the depths of our soul & meet our demons with acknowledgement, understanding, and acceptance

It’s painful to see these parts. Especially if rooted in trauma or hurt or relationship to others

Often they reveal to us the things which matter most though…we can see what we value or what we need or what we can better express when we we can pay attention to and respect how we feel when exploring our pain

It’s unconditional self-love. One that says I love myself as I am AND I love myself enough to: treat myself better, pursue what I want, set boundaries, be myself, express my desires and needs, rewrite conditioned beliefs, walk away, embrace, nourish, respect all sides of me

When we sit with our past it can inform our future but when we avoid things which are hard to acknowledge that we ever did, thought, felt, or experienced, we block ourselves from the human gift of insight!

We don’t hold the mirror up to face the darkness and confirm maladaptive beliefs about ourselves that result in more loathing though…we are holding the mirror up to face the darkness & establish that there can be love in spite of it, lessons through it, & a blessing to experience the adventures of life that grant us all permission to

let go of perfection & instead embrace vulnerability as a tool for resilience, failure as a lens to growth, doubt as a path to faith, & comfort in the fact that all we truly are is who we are now and there is no guarantee of our own evolution since we don’t know what tomorrow brings but in our ability to future pace we foster a connection to ourselves that can lend beneficial to our connections with others

#BUILDMORETHANJUSTABODY
Need some mental support? I have tons of free resources like my mental health card deck, post show blues or food relationship coaching series & more

📸: @gilcoproductions