“The way we can allow ourselves to do what we need to, no matter what others may say or do, is to choose love and defy fear.”

-Martha Beck

Choose love.

It is the only choice you will make that will change your life for the better forever, because love is the origin of every good thing. And so, each time we choose love, we open ourselves up to that nucleus of goodness; everything else beautiful flows from there.

Learn to embody love’s universal energy inside of yourself; wrap it around you like a psychic shield which gently radiates presence and protection wherever you go.

Pretend you are the ocean who holds space for all who inhabit her streams.

Go be with nature and take in the energy of the trees; let yourself be like them, feeling as kind, grounded, and accepting as they.

Think about the earth and how she makes a place for all of us, offering unconditional acceptance no matter who we are. Imagine you are as big as the earth.

Choose Love.

Forgive yourself when you’ve had a bad day, and stress or judgment or fatigue got the better of you, so you were less than your most desired self. Send out the energy of soft pink light to anyone who may have been affected — start with yourself.

Trust the universe to support and guide them on their path, just as you, too, are being supported and guided on yours.

Look for opportunities to help somebody in a practical way. Thank the person who serves your coffee with warmth and sincerity. Let somebody go in front of you during traffic. Smile.

Release imaginary lanterns of peace into the sky; picture their light shining down on humanity. Be kind to animals. Eat a cookie and delight in it. Do whatever you can with joy.

Fostering love isn’t about perfection, it’s about developing an eye for opportunities to do so.

Realize each of us is doing the best we can on any given day, even if we don’t always understand each other’s “best.”

Remember we don’t know somebody’s soul path, why they are here at this point in time, what lessons they have to learn, or how they need to grow their heart.

Then, remember that each of us is in the process of discovering these truths for ourselves, so keep getting down to the business of finding out what these things mean for you.

Choose love.

Make loving yourself a priority. Get support from a friend or book or therapist or healer or whatever calls to you if you need help and don’t know where to start.

Practice saying this truth daily: “I am enough.” Remember that none of us have mastered this, and we are all students continually learning how to be complete, enough, and whole.

Notice your thoughts. Try not to judge them. If you find something you don’t like, work on changing it and finding a new perspective.

Remember you are not your thoughts; your thoughts are malleable materials here to help you, so work on learning to shape them in a way that supports you.

Notice your body. Try not to judge it. If you find something you don’t like, work on thanking it for holding you, giving you structure, and agreeing to be the canvas which contains the art of your soul.

Remember you are not your body; your body is a beautiful temple here to help you, so work on learning to love it in a way that supports you.

Notice your heart. Thank it for beating for you. Thank it for innately knowing how to love. Picture it warm and glowing with love. Picture that energy traveling out into the world. Practice this whenever you can.

Remember we are connected to the whole when we love.

Choose love.

Don’t be perfect. Be beautifully and wonderfully you, and be okay with making a mess from time to time. Don’t short cut your humanity and spiritually dissociate by pretending it’s all love and light if it’s not. Say “fuck” if you need to and be tenderly honest with wherever you are at.

Learn to face yourself and know all parts of you are valuable. 

Realize in the eyes of the universe there is nothing we can do that will make us more or less deserving of love.

Try and work on living this truth, because it will revolutionize your life if you let it in and begin to integrate the idea that there is nothing you can do, or not do, to increase or diminish your innate value, worth, or lovability in the eyes of life. 

Which means you are just as loved when you’re at your worst as you are when you’re at your best. Love is a blind, all-giving, equal-opportunist.

Savor this. Swallow it whole. Let it seep into your heart and bones and cells and skin. Let it consume you and nourish you.

Sit with your enoughness.

Revel in it.

Laugh about it.

Be relieved that you don’t have to try so hard, then notice how much more grace you naturally extend to others because of the amount of grace flowing through you.

Do whatever it is that calls to you to love and know it is enough.

Choose love.

Make a list of what that means to you. Write it down. Share your list with others.

Let’s transform the energy of this world in as many ways as we can — then see how love multiplies, magnifies, and rises up when we become its catalyst of change.

*this article was originally published at Urban Howl.

If you enjoyed this reflection you might also enjoy Let It Be Messy: An Invitation to Trust or Golden: Savor The Struggle.

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Be love. Be well. Be you. Be magic.