I was listening to author Elizabeth Gilbert on the Tim Ferriss podcast last week and she fueled my soul. She spoke about how the language of our experience is always that we should ‘power through.’ But sometimes we can’t. We need to stop and take care of ourselves. And then begin again.
She spoke about having mercy for ourselves. Loving ourselves. Supporting ourselves. Accepting ourselves.
She said, “This is how I talk to myself sometimes, I say, ‘I don’t know why they gave me you. I don’t know why they gave me you to take care of, but they did. They dropped me into your body. They dropped me into this mind. They dropped me into this family. They dropped me into this culture. They dropped me into this moment of history. They gave me these talents. They gave me these mental illnesses. They gave me these gifts. They gave me these addictions. I don’t know why they gave me you, but I accept, I accept that and I accept the sacred responsibility of taking care of you. And I will take really good care of you. And I haven’t always, but I will now.'”
Once we accept all that we are, we can accept others. It all starts with loving ourselves.
What can we do today to give ourselves a soft place to fall?