How well do you know yourself? This question has been spinning in my head for the last couple decades, when I was younger I don’t think I asked myself this question as much as I did just accept or state the way(s) in which I was….but then, I spent a LOT of time by myself before the age of 11 and for some, knowing one self comes from being in relation to others for having the reflection of another to experience the self.
Something that I have been more recently reminded of with others experience of me is that who they are affects how they experience me and as such brings into question whether their experience of me could be or indeed is even the same as my experience of me.
And whether or not I’m loving on my self on the regular absolutely matters when it comes to how I’m experiencing others and how they’re experiencing me.
In order to love your self it is helpful to know your self, if only so you can love your self in the ways only you know you love….but if you’re feeling a bit adrift, perhaps some things have happened in your life or are happening in your life that are making you question just how much it is that you do know about your self, then now is the time to get to know your self more by considering how it is you most enjoy loving your self.
Are there things about your self (either presently or from the past) that you’d like to know better that you can glean from others or just by spending time with your self in some quiet (or even noisy) contemplation? Reflect for as long as you wish or can right now on what it is you give to your self as love in relation to what you know about your self – is it time spent with your self in nature? Or perhaps with loved ones in community? Is it researching your family history or maybe creating something from an inner vision that’s part of your life purpose?
If you’re in a particularly challenging place in your life right now and you’re questioning how much of anything you know about anything (including your self), or if you’ve never really even asked your self this question then start small and gently with writing in your journal what you know you like and then look at what you’ve written and for each item break down why it is you like each one for clues on what that says about who you are.
We will work more with this as this book continues as it’s probable that the many layers that comprise us may not accurately represent us, but what other have put on us….and it’s necessary when loving our selves that we can discern who is us and who isn’t.
TimeSpaceOne 