The Power of Self-Care and Self-Love

from our Angel Messenger Creative Team

“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” ~Eleanor Brown

You can only share with others that which you have in abundance for yourself. This is true for everything in life, including the most important but non-tangible things like love, care, and acceptance.

A person who cannot forgive himself or herself can also never truly forgive others. True forgiveness can exist only in the presence of unconditional love. In order to be able to love others unconditionally, you have to first love your own self unconditionally. Hence, it goes without saying that you can take care of others only when you take care of yourself properly and regularly.

Overcoming Guilt

Most people, and especially women, feel extremely guilty about taking time out for themselves. To add to this, they also feel mortified about spending money on themselves. Women are conditioned to believe that they must put their own needs last. The problem with this idea is that it makes a woman extremely unfulfilled and leaves her feeling like a martyr who must uncomplainingly sacrifice her own desires and needs.

While it might win a woman social approval, it hardly ever provides her with real fulfillment. The question is how can an unfulfilled person give unconditional love and happiness to others?

Hence, a woman who regularly makes time for herself and doesn’t feel guilty about spending on her needs lives life from a place of joy. Since her own needs have been met, she has an abundance of love and happiness that she is more than willing to give to others.

Show Love to Yourself

Just like a plant needs to be watered regularly, all relationships need to be tended to regularly, including the relationship that you have with your own self. Therefore, you must make room to give love to yourself.

Here are a few self-love rituals that you can incorporate into your daily routine. Feel free to choose the ones that seem right for you. The only criteria for choosing your personal rituals is that they must make you feel rejuvenated and replenished.

• Maintain a gratitude journal in which you give thanks to your body, mind, and soul every day.
• Regularly spend money on yourself without feeling guilty.
• Cook your favorite food and make the time to eat it relishing every morsel.
• Eat your favorite food at a restaurant of your choice.
• Take a day off and just relax doing what you truly want to do (this could also mean doing nothing at all).
• Write a letter to yourself expressing how much you love being YOU and how thankful you are for all the experiences you have had in this life.
• Write down loving affirmations to celebrate your life and your Self. Here are a few ideas:
• I’m beautiful and gorgeous. I deserve the best of everything.
• I’m a kind, loving, and generous person. I love myself exactly the way I am.
• I’m beautiful inside and out. I love myself.
• My heart is filled with love and beauty. I’m a beautiful soul.

These are just suggestions. You can modify them or add some more of your own to the list. You must practice them regularly (which could be daily, weekly, or as frequently as possible). Incorporate them into your routine so that you don’t forget to practice them. For instance, you could write your gratitude journal every morning or cook your favorite food at least once or twice a week. You can also read our beauty affirmations to help re-shape your life now.

Self-Care Rituals

How will you carry a delicate baby in your arms? You’ll surely be extra gentle and extremely careful. That’s exactly how you must carry your own self in this life.

The baby requires a lot of love and attention. However, in this situation, you must learn to be your own mother. Taking care of yourself will make you stronger and more powerful as you’ll have the energy and the ability to deal with all of life’s challenges as you’d regularly be taking the time to recharge your batteries.

Here are some self-care ideas that I would highly recommend you incorporate into your routine:

• Adopt a spiritual practice and meditate regularly.
• Create a soothing atmosphere in your home to relax every evening. You can light candles, burn incense, play your favorite kind of soft music, cook an aromatic meal, etc.
• At least once a week, take a relaxing bath without feeling rushed.
• Eat with mindfulness and make it a point to eat healthy food that agrees with your body.
• Express yourself creatively by adopting a hobby. You can paint, play a musical instrument, sing, dance, practice calligraphy, or do just about anything that makes you feel good.
• Take regular walks in nature.
• Take time out to stargaze.
• Spend quality time with people you really care about and who care about you. (Make an effort to spend more time with those who influence your life positively. Over time, distance yourself from those who make you feel drained. I understand that this might not always be possible. In case it’s a loved one who seems to drain your energy, you can regularly take time away to just be by yourself. Recharge yourself during these breaks by making yourself stronger and more resilient. Develop so much strength that you can give to others without getting influenced by their negativity)
• Accept all your flaws without judgment and criticism. Strive to become a better person without belittling and shaming who you are at the moment.

The world outside is only a reflection of the world inside. Your relationships with your near and dear ones are, in one way or another, a reflection of your relationship with your own Self. If you want to heal your relationship with others, then, you must first heal the relationship that you have with yourself. It all begins with complete self-acceptance, a generous amount of self-love and regular self-care. Click here for some additional self-care rituals.

I’ll end with this beautiful quote by Audre Lorde,

“Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.”

Affirmation

“I deserve love and happiness. I take the time to care for my body, mind, and soul because I am worth it.”

P.S. This article is the twelfth and final piece in our “Beauty” project. Our team had decided that it was vitally important to help bring beauty into the world in whatever way we could and still can and to help others to do the same. We hope that you have followed our project on Beauty and that it has helped you in many ways.

Much Love & Angel Blessings,

Angel Messenger