We're all looking for more love, aren't we? We're looking for love from the significant people in our lives, (some are looking for love from everyone they meet); we're looking for love in our work, in our hobbies and likely in every aspect of our lives. But where does that love come from and why do we expect others or outside experiences to supply it for us? Certainly we all deserve to be loved but if we want more love in our lives we have to be willing to give it out too.
As I contemplated "Love" for today's Valentine’s Day post, I seemed to hone in on altering Gandhi's great quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world" to "be the love you want to feel in the world." It seems to me, that our society is so focused on being "in love" that we forget that love really comes from within us. It's true that someone or something can spark the sensation of love within us but the source is still inside — not outside. So if we feel that we're not being loved the way we're meant to be or if we don't feel like we are in love with our jobs, maybe it's up to us to tap into the love within and bring it out more fully.
A large part of the Anusara-inspired yoga style that I teach is concerned with cultivating certain heart qualities like love, peace and vitality. During a yoga class or practice, we focus on a particular quality that we would like to feel more of. By contemplating on this quality and practicing with it, we can build more of it and increase our insight of how we can cultivate it in our every day lives. Self-love is an extremely important heart quality to cultivate. I think loving yourself sometimes gets a bad rap because I'm not sure that many people are really comfortable with loving themselves. Does it seem selfish? Does it seem elitist? I'm not really sure what the problem is but I do know that not loving yourself is a problem. When we don't love ourselves, we don't feel whole, satisfied or complete. When we go looking for something outside ourselves to fill that hole, we end up with dysfunctions, addictions and just as dangerous dissatisfaction and distress. The truth is no one person and no one thing outside yourself can complete you. So on this Valentines Day, I hope you'll take a moment to consider how you might be more loving to yourself.
As much as love is a noun it's also a verb. Here's a few ways to be more loving to yourself: feed yourself nourishing food, drink plenty of water, breathe more deeply and easily, take care of your living environment, exercise, stretch, challenge yourself to remember what is special and unique about yourself, and I think most important of all is to do something that makes you sparkle. If you don't know what that is anymore make a commitment to find out. I also realize there is a point in life for many that doing what makes you really happy just isn’t possible anymore. I hope that if and when that happens to me I’ll remember that I still have the choice to rejoice in the happiness of others. Once your plugged into the source of love within, you open up a stream to send that love out into the world. When you give your love away, you’ll no doubt open yourself up to receiving love in return.
MC Yogi sings one of my favorite love songs and he’s giving it away for free download. Check it out here…
No comments:
Post a Comment