31 Days of Learning to Breathe: Breathing in Love

Ahhhh. Love! That thing that we long for, that we desire to give, that sometimes eludes us, sometimes breaks our hearts, sometimes confuses us. 

Love for and from family, love for spouses, children, friends, strangers, God......how about love for ourselves? Oh, that can be a touchy one can't it? We find it so easy to love others, but we have a hard time loving ourselves, or feeling worthy of being loved and yet self-love is so vital for our well being. 

We need to learn to breathe in love. Because guess what? We are worth it. We are worth receiving love, being loved, giving love. 

Maybe life is hard and you are in relationships where you are not loved properly, or don't feel love on a regular basis. Maybe you have been hurt deeply and have a hard time loving or receiving love. Maybe you were raised with little or "conditional" love from your parents. Maybe at a young age, you began negative self talk and learned to dislike or even hate who you are, your body, your lack of talent, etc. Maybe you were treated in such a way that your perception of love was warped. We know that these scenarios are experienced by so many around us, even ourselves or those close to us. 

Breathe in Love, and at the same time exhale love....depending on what it is we are breathing in or exhaling will determine if we are getting rid of it because it's harmful or because it is a benefit to us and others.

I truly feel that if we are focusing on self care, we are better able to care for and love others. It's not selfish and it's not wrong. It's vital. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not always the best at self care. It's much easier for me to take care of others. But I have gotten better at guarding how I talk to and about myself. Not perfect but better. 

How do we breathe in love? I asked a few facebook friends and here were some of their thoughts. I'll add more if I get more responses.

* To believe for it like I believe for my heart to beat without even thinking about it. Just being in it. 

* The smell of my kids hair when they've been playing outside on a crisp day.

* To be out in nature on a cool, crisp (or rainy) fall day all by myself. Surrounded by beauty in all directions.

* To be with someone you love.

* To look into someone's eyes when they're sharing loving words and really connect. Look people in the eyes and smile and receive the love they are giving me.

* I breathe in love when someone cooks for me. 

Maybe for you it's prayer, meditation, music, words, poetry, time with a loved one, feeling good about yourself, receiving a letter, writing a letter, treating yourself to a special treat or outfit or something else. 

At the beginning of last year I created a vision board, you can read about it here. Words are big for me, as are quotes, etc. That is just one way I breathe in love. I feel like one big way I breathe out love is my love for feeding people. Whether it's making goodies for the girls at the coffee shop, for my family or making a cake for a fundraiser or taking a nourishing meal to a friend, I show my love for people when I serve them. After I wrote this, a friend of mine wrote the last thing above about how they receive love...too bad she lives several states away.

Take time this weekend to breathe in love, to yourself from yourself, from others, from God, from nature. To exhale love to others around you. 



With Joy Unquenchable,