This week my goal was to clean my bookshelves in the on-going process of downsizing. So at moments I stop to leaf through a book I had forgotten was sitting on the shelf. This short chapter jumped out at me. It was a reminder that we must be kind to ourselves too.
Kindness is my Nature and my Gift
by Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way) in the book Blessings
"My heart is a deep lake of loving-kindness. I count myself fortunate to hold tenderness with my soul. I forgive myself my fears, frailties, and failures. I am compassionate toward myself in times of turbulence and change. I remind myself that I am a gentle soul and that I have need of cherishing. I treat myself as I wish others would treat me. I treat others as they wish to be treated. I allow myself, in times of difficult and demanding strife, that I am loved and lovable, that I am worthy and respected. I do not allow temporary anxiety to distort my view of the whole. I gently seek the blessings in all difficulty while I am compassionate to myself for my lingering doubts and fears. I remind myself that my life is in the care of God and that it is unfolding with beauty and harmony."
What jumped out at me was the need to be cherished. Sometimes I find I treat others better than I treat myself. I don't allow others to cherish me.
One thing I do for myself that seems to make others happy too is taking a walk in my garden each morning and sharing on Facebook what I found on that morning. The pictures you see are what I found in the garden this morning. I didn't get pictures of the two birds that sat nearby, but they also brought me joy this morning.
You are special and deserve being cherished.
Sending love,
Marilyn
PS: I just realized a whole week went by and yet I shared the same first flower that I shared last week. Ugh! I think cleaning and downsizing is scrambling my days.
4 comments:
A lovely message to start my day/week ... thank you !
"I remind myself that my life is in the care of God and that it is unfolding with beauty and harmony" are the words that stand out to me in this helpful message. The photos you took as you walked in the garden are beautiful. I can also imagine the two birds that you saw that gave you joy.
I'm doing much of the same and you're right -- it scrambles your days. I've never tossed so much. And have bags to donate. I love your blooms and garden tradition. And that's a lovely piece by Cameron. I do love her Artist's Way book.
We all need reminders to show tenderness and kindness to ourselves. Good luck on the continued sorting!
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