"I can't say this strongly enough,
but our feelings about ourselves
are actually the most important
barometer for determining
the condition of our lives!"
-- Anita Moorjani
Abraham Lincoln said, "It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claim kindred to the great God who made him." Another perspective of that idea comes from Shannon L Alder: "One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself." There may be many of us who don't and haven't felt worthy, even some for most all of their lives, and living life according to what others have laid out as good is part of it.
As I look on this subject of worthiness, and of being the real and true me, I see hundreds of influences that have endeavored, almost always with the best of intentions, to lead me where they think best. My mother, father, then step-father, grandparents, other relatives, church, school, employers, teachers, friends, spouse, and more. It seems in looking at this pile of influencers that so many had advice on how best to succeed (whatever that is), do well, become a better human being. Under all of that influence, it is incredibly easy to lose sight of our own inner power, our own inner knowing, our own guidance system. Instead, we accept and then seek even more from others to find our way, or to follow a so-called proven path.
I like how Elizabeth Gilbert claims it: "Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend." Instead, some even dip into and out of deep depression, as Margaret Atwood blatantly describes: "I don't want to see anyone. I lie in the bedroom with the curtains drawn and nothingness washing over me like a sluggish wave. Whatever is happening to me is my own fault. I have done something wrong, something so huge I can't even see it, something that's drowning me. I am inadequate and stupid, without worth. I might as well be dead."
It doesn't matter what is wrong. Indeed, there is nothing wrong. I know this now because I found my inner guidance, my inner knowing, my true self. The more I learn to allow, to appreciate, the stronger I get in insisting that I am fully in charge of my own reality, my own creative ability, my own worthiness, my own love of myself, and a real and genuine love of others which comes naturally from this connection. We all have it, and we were born with it, and we allowed others to influence us to give it to them which created the only real problem we have ever had. It was a problem because no matter how smart, wise, intelligent, or well-intended another is, they simply cannot be me, live my life, think my thoughts, create for me. We each can only exclusively do that for ourselves.
This quote from Abraham and Esther Hicks helps guide us back to our self: "The key to. . . experiencing the absolute absence of resistance, of achieving complete alignment with all that you have become and all that you desire, and of bringing to your physical experience everything that you desire--is being in the state of appreciation. And there is no more important object of attention to which you must flow your appreciation than that of self."
Those who have taught us, many with the best intentions, that to focus on ourselves is selfish, conceited, and wrong, that we are not worthy, that their way is the right way have a right to their opinion. And we, have a right to guide ourselves and judge for ourselves, make our own decisions, and to focus on our own inner knowing. We can reclaim this any time we choose to do so. The best thing that I can do from anything and everything that I have ever written in these Daily Inspirations is to inspire you to your own truth, your own inner knowing, your own inner guidance, as I have learned to do for myself.
The exercise that I asked you to do yesterday is a powerful exercise and is worthy of repetition regularly. I think it is of the utmost importance that we understand and appreciate ourselves, to love ourselves as deeply as possible, and to then from that solid foundation, love others in the same way because we know that they are worthy, even equally worthy as ourselves.
Taking The Time To Appreciate Yourself Is Among The Most Worthy Of Activities, The Results Of Which Will Speak Volumes To You, And Then Through You To Others.
Spread Some Joy Today--by being in a constant state of appreciation.
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