Gentleness
Our relationship with ourselves is directly reflected onto every area in the rest of our lives. You may have heard the expression, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” The expression may be rewritten, “Treat yourself, how you would want another to treat you.”
A good relationship with the self all comes back to one word - gentleness. American society teaches us to go nonstop, meet expectations, workout 7 days a week and never take a break. We are taught to be robots functioning at optimal level.
My opinion is that the human experience is much more spiritual and profound than the life of a robot. We have feelings, deep experiences, individual purposes, and most importantly, we are all made of love.
It has been a long journey learning this. I am one who used to reject her feelings and listen to what society told me instead. So what if I was exhausted? I’d only been to the gym twice this week, I needed to get my ass there and into shape, i used to tell myself.
I now know that what I really needed was some rest, and a less busy schedule that allowed for that rest, as well as whatever exercise felt right to my body.
Gentleness comes in many forms. It is individualistic and very personal. Being gentle requires looking into ourselves, and being honest and completely nonjudgmental about what our bodies, minds, spirits, and souls want. Reject society. Reject judgment. Do NOT reject yourself.
If your soul calls out for a midnight hookup, feed your soul. If you are craving ice cream, feed your body. If your spirit needs kindness, to feel loved, write down a list of things that you love about yourself. The key is to LISTEN, and to not let the fear of following your heart keep you from finding the love you’ve been searching for.
To be gentle sounds like quite a simple lesson, but SO many struggle with this. SO many are hurting because they reject themselves and their feelings. Every ounce of healing begins with ourselves. Beauty shines from the inside out, and the most beautiful thing a person can be is gentle with themselves.