Become a friend to yourself
Show kindness to yourself
“I have began to be a friend of myself”- is the answer Seneca gave when someone asked him about his progress in life.
I totally resonate with his answer. We should become more friendly with ourselves: from scars to tears and from pain to happiness. Everyone is imperfect but everyone has a sparkle in their eyes when they talk about what they love and what they care. When we appreciate something and we see the beauty in someone else we naturally want to protect this- what stop us to see the beauty in ourselves too? And to protect our peace? If we can show kindness to our loved ones, we can do the same for us.
We spend so much time in our head, thinking that we should live a better life than what it’s now. We should make peace with our unlived life- in my opinion the unlived life is the one we imagined we have to live. To be honest, I’ve been there, I suffered because I didn’t live the life I believed I should life- guess what, after deprogramming those beliefs I understand that this life is the one I have to live.
What you can do: Practice self-compassion and forgiveness to yourself. Speak yourself with kindness. Keep your boundaries up.
Don’t believe everything you think, especially in difficult times, because our mind tend to interpret anything and everything, arriving at wrong conclusions about ourselves.
But in the same time you can: Sit in a nice green space while watching the sea. Take a book to your favorite cafe and visit an art gallery. Listening to the rain. Gardening your flowers. Write down your thoughts. Dance and sing. Take a walk in the park. Watch dogs playing with kids.
It’s important to find out what are your resources, is a great way to become a friend to yourself.
Alexandra Androne July 2024
