Be kind to yourself
Some people go out of their way to please others in the hope that they will be liked and accepted, and in doing so forget to be kind to themselves. This may be due to their past experiences wherein they were verbally and physically abused, or they were never appreciated, especially by their own family.
It is in this line of thought that I am sharing a story by inspirational speaker and author Bo Sanchez in the book, “Didache Daily Bible Reflections For Catholics." "On her way home, a woman saw a parrot in a pet shop window. The parrot said, 'Lady, you are really ugly!' Shocked the woman walked away in a huff. The next day, she again saw the parrot in the pet shop window. It said, 'Lady, you are really ugly!'
The woman couldn’t take it anymore. She barged inside the pet shop and told the owner, 'Your bird outside has been telling me that I’m ugly. You better do something about that parrot. When I walk here tomorrow, and the bird says the same thing about me, I’ll sue you.' The owner apologized and promised it won’t happen again. The next day, she saw the parrot and the parrot saw her. She stopped, and with an icy stare asked, 'Yes?' The parrot strutting back and forth, cocked, 'You know.'
Sanchez exclaims, “Friends, many of us have an inner parrot that tells us, 'You’re ugly.' We actually don’t need the devil to accuse us and damn us to hell – because we do it ourselves. If you failed in achieving some of your dreams this year because of an inner parrot that told you won’t amount to anything, fire that parrot. Start telling yourself the truth. That you’re God’s child and beautiful beyond imagination. Be kind and love yourself.”
I remember one time when I bought a branded multi- vitamins a relative exclaimed, “If I were you, I wouldn’t buy that kind of vitamins. That’s too expensive!” I retorted, “I have to treat myself with things that I like, once in a while. We just can’t keep on focusing with the problems in life and forgetting to be kind to ourselves. It’s good for the soul to be kind and love our own self.”
If you want to be kind and love yourself, there are ways suggested by Mareliza of the “Daring to Live Fully" website.
Carve out some time for yourself. Every day carve out some time for yourself and do something that brings you joy. Do anything that you love to do.
Forgive yourself. We all mess up. If you’re angry at yourself, you need to show yourself kindness. Stop blaming yourself, resolve to do better from now on, and forgive yourself.
Take good care of yourself. Get enough sleep, eat fruits and vegetables, and get some form of exercise on a regular basis.
Respect yourself. Self –respect is valuing yourself who you are, and not allowing other to dictate your value. Refuse to compare yourself to others. And make good of your promises.
Treat yourself. If you see something that you really want, treat yourself. You don’t have to wait for someone else to give it to you as a gift. Treat yourself once in a while. And most of all, accept yourself as you are.
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