I love to go to parties and events, I mean who doesn't (especially after this pandemic lifestyle). I cant wait to celebrate all of life's biggest milestones like graduations, birthdays, weddings, babies & all that in between. When I think about celebrations I think about happiness, laughter, smiles and supporting those around me. I've been celebrated by my family and friends for a number of life's excitements; various graduations, an engagement & wedding, two babies, new jobs, new houses, birthdays, anniversaries, Mothers Day, and the list goes on. There is great energy when you can come together for these events but its interesting that when we celebrate more of the little daily personal milestones, its not always as widely received by those around us. Why is that?
I've noticed with the increase in social media in my daily life, I am constantly seeing what seems like everyone's perfectly curated moments . When people talk about their experiences and successes, I find myself feeling threatened, measuring my life to theirs, asking how they can have all that or just simply judging them for telling the world. Like who cares about that little thing? I started to realize that I no longer wanted to see or hear of other peoples successes outside of the "accepted" milestones. I would hold this negative energy and negative thoughts with me throughout my day. This is when my anxiety thrives, it slowly takes control & without conscious thought, I continue to feed the narrative.
With the help of therapy, yoga, meditation, books, podcasts and most recently women's circles, I have come to realize I choose to be jealous when I could be supportive. I have allowed my inner self critic to capitalize on my lack of self love and self worth so it can project a negative perspective onto those around me. I have been allowing expectations that do not serve me to be the mile markers for my success; I measure who I am and what I have accomplished to those around me instead of finding solitude, love and support. I have been looking at other individuals successes as my failure, thus fueling the negative self talk cycle.
When I saw those mini moments shared to the world by others, I longed for that sense of bravery to tell my own stories . I found myself nervous to tell others about what I have accomplished for fear I would be seen as showing off, gloating or being self involved; judged for my choices as they are not always conventional or expected.
I have been asked to celebrate myself in the name of gratitude as an exercise in self love. What a simple concept, it should be so easy to do and yet I've held myself back for so long as to not shine too bright or offend anyone. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers or make others uncomfortable (that people pleasing desire has always been my first reaction). Yet the only person I've hurt is myself. All that started to shift when I put myself, and my needs first. I started to set boundaries and advocating for me.
I am here today to celebrate me; this is not a moment where I hope to glamorize myself and brag about what I have. I am taking this moment to acknowledge that I am worthy and deserving of all that life has to offer and showing myself gratitude for what I have experienced and overcome.
I celebrate my husband who has been nothing short of supportive and shown me what unconditional love really means.
I celebrate my two children who have been by my side through this journey of self exploration, learning with me and loving me for exactly who I am in the moment.
I celebrate my career which I worked hard to establish. A four year bachelors degree and 11 years of bedside care. I am so passionate about helping others and being able to constantly learn new skills & information. While I am unsure where my career will lead me, I am certain that it will only get better.
I celebrate the small moments; cooking or baking a new dish, attempting to rollerblade, joining a new community group, connecting with new people or reconnecting with old friends, successfully growing lettuce, wearing a crop top or my new bikini.
I celebrate my love of writing and the creative process. It was never something I would have imagined for myself, but expressing my thoughts, feelings and experiences has allowed for release, growth and new found self love. I am incredibly proud of the website I designed by myself, for putting myself out there and connecting with those who have joined me along the way.
I celebrate my family and friends who have always believed in me, my gifts, skills and talents when I was unable to see it. I am inspired by all of you in my life for how you handle all of life's challenges and triumphs.
I aspire to go forward with gratitude for myself and those around me. I choose to help you celebrate those smaller, important milestones and to start doing the same for myself. We are all living our own unique experiences, but we have crossed paths for a reason. Lets start seeing each other as sources of strength & encouragement and stop pulling each other down.
Lets continue to talk about all of life's waves; the good, the bad and the ugly. I see you, I support you in whatever adventure you find yourself in and I look forward to hearing all about it and seeing it in my daily social media feed!
Go celebrate you for all your accomplishments and for all of your future hopes and dreams!
XO Dee
#livingmytruth #selfexpression #awareness #selflove #youareworthy #womenscircles #supportingeachother #loveoneanother #growth #mindsetshift #mentalwellness #healingprocess #changemaker #justbreathe #ontheblog #bloglife #bloggersofinstagram
{Sending gratitude to Kristi King Perras, coach and leader of the Expanded Soul Movement, whose words and guidance are encouraging me to be proud of myself while sharing my gifts and love with the world. Thank you for encouraging me to put myself out there with this exercise. Xo)
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