Good Morning and Welcome to the Weekend from my Atlantic Life 😊
I just had to share the painting that a beloved friend of mine sent me yesterday.
Jeff and I have been friends a long time and he kindly reads my blog every day - and as an extremely talented and gifted artist, sometimes he uses photos from my blog for inspiration. The one above is from my post the other day about the "things" that money can't buy.
The photo:
And below is the painting of Mr Pelican that Jeff sent me earlier in the week.....I hope you enjoy these works of art as much as I do....Thank You again Jeff, like you my dear friend, they are truly beautiful.
The Photo:
Now, as you are probably aware of by now, I think it's super important for our well-being to be self-aware, to like and love yourself....and to truly understand our own heart, mind and soul, which as I well know is not always the easiest of things to do.
Perhaps it would be a great start to be our own "best friend"?
What do I mean by that? Well, what is it we look for in our closest "best friends"?
Someone that
- really listens to you
- has your back
- makes you smile
- encourages you
- holds you when you're sad or broken
- celebrates your successes with you
- knows your secrets
- does not judge you
- is honest with you
- loves you
- respects you-
- accepts you at your worst
- will sit in silence with you, when that is what you need
- will point out potential problems that you may not see (or want to see)
- is fun
This is not an exhaustive list, but some of the important attributes we look for. If you are lucky, you will have at least one of these people in your life.... some may have several.
But have you ever thought about having those attributes towards yourself?
Let's think about it...
- Do you listen to your heart and body as well as your mind?
- Do you have your own back, or are you in the habit of self-sabotage?
- Can you make yourself smile - even when you're sad?
- Do you provide encouragement and positive thoughts to yourself (little notes stuck on the
fridge door 😉)?
- Do you know how best to deal with your hurt when you're sad or broken?
- Do you celebrate your wins.... even the teeny, tiny ones, that no-one else would notice?
- Do you understand why you keep some things secret?
- Do you judge yourself too harshly?
- Are you completely honest with yourself...or is it easier to ignore some facts
- Do you love who you are? how you look? who you are becoming?
- Do you show yourself the same level of respect that show others? (I'm going out on a limb
here and assuming you are super respectful of others 😊)
- Do you accept yourself at your worst.... still know that at your heart you're a good person,
trying to do the right thing.... know that sometimes we can get angry, hurt, confused, fragile,
frustrated?
- Are you truly self-aware....and try to proactively look for any "blindspots" that you may have?
- Can you sit in silence with yourself, shut off negative thoughts and just be present with
yourself?
- Do you know how to have fun in your own company?
Can you answer all the above in the affirmative? If so, congrats.... if not, no worries, we are all works in progress and there are lots of things we can do to change our answers to Yes.
Being your own best friend is an interesting concept, and one I'm exploring - I’m not quite there yet, but I've made a great start over the last couple of years.... the more I discover about myself, the more I know how to help myself, or get the help I need.... the happier my life becomes 😊
It is only by asking ourselves these types of questions, that we can identify where we need to focus a little more of our attention on.
For example - Do I like myself/accept myself?
For as long as I can remember I have been self-conscious about the way my body looks. Yes, I know it sounds terribly shallow, but I'm being honest, there have been very few times in my life that I have been able to get up in the morning, choose the clothes I like, put them on and think.... great, I like how I look, and have the confidence to start my day!
No, no, no, my day used to begin with me trying on several (often more) different sets of clothing, getting more and more frustrated with each change.....until finally I would find the least offensive (to me) outfit, and out of the closet I would come, feeling defeated......then it was off for more coffee before heading to work - thank goodness for caffeine!!!!
Now, no-one (except JB, who only discovered this, years after we had been married and living together), knew how this is how I started my mornings. I managed to combat this by finding the "little black dresses" you may have heard me mention before. That particular cut of dress seemed to work for me, and could easily be covered with a multitude of cardigans, wraps, scarves etc.......Problem solved.
It was funny how people used to comment on how "together" I always looked, confident and comfortable in my own skin - when they had no idea how my daily dressing routine had come about. I was so far from comfortable in my own skin....and the sad thing was, this particular affliction was all of my own creating. Looking back at older photos now (not that there are that many....I used to avoid being in photos at all times), there was nothing wrong with the way my body looked, in fact now that I'm even "curvier", thanks to being in my 50's 😝, I only wish I hadn't spent so much wasted time and energy worrying about it. I looked great!
Today, I feel blessed to have the body I have....one that for the moment, still works, one that I can be happy in. I accept that we are all unique, that I'm not meant to have the same long slim legs as some others have, that my teeth aren't straight, that my butt is rather round, that I have lines on my face.....and, thanks to the menopause, I seemed to have accumulated a tummy where I never used to have one - or maybe that was all the chocolate, Cheetos and red wine that I love 😁
All I now know is that everyone is unique and truly beautiful in different ways, as am I... and, that I like, love and have finally accepted that person....me - and that's kind of awesome!
Did you answer the questions above? Are you your own best friend? If not, why not give it a try💗
Now, I'm off to find some frames for my beautiful paintings!
Until Next Time...
Take care, Stay safe and.....give yourself a break, you deserve to be loved!
Love and Hugs,
Pam
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