A life Well Lived….So Far!

As I came to a milestone birthday recently, I decided to spend some time in reflection and honoring a life well lived. We can honor ourselves in many ways. I have come to this time in my life where I am seeing that I am accepting all parts of myself, the good, the bad, the perfect, the imperfect, the disappointments, and the triumphs. I am trying to live my life now around what is most sacred and important to me. Honoring myself means putting myself first for a change – which really doesn’t come easy to me – I am more of a natural caregiver. But in putting myself first I am not doing so selfishly but more in treating myself with compassion, understanding gentleness, acceptance, and love. It’s not easy to accept all our parts. To be aware and prioritize what’s important takes slowing down and pausing to ask, do I even know what’s important to me? It is not always easy to honor oneself – we often live our lives entrenched in hurry, worry and busy – taking the time to pause has not been taught in life. Thankfully through positive psychology I have learned I have a choice; I get to choose what I want to do with this wonderful, beautiful life I have and choose each day how I want to BE in this world.

Forgiving myself has become key – I make mistakes (mis-takes!) I say and do the wrong thing – forgiving myself for being human and not being perfect and often saying out loud – I forgive you – it’s okay – and following with a gentle I love you.

Taking Sacred Pauses throughout the day to check in – am I here now? Am I using my senses? All of them? Pause, breathe, look, feel, touch, notice – Be here now – this is a precious moment you NOW have – Be Here!

Listening to my body: Does it need to stretch, walk, rest? Have I had water, am I eating or drinking too much? How does each part of your body feel? Can you push through, or should you rest?

Compassionate Curiosity: Am I being honest with myself? Is everything really okay or am I feeling disappointed, disconnected, sad – if so, what can I do about that? Do I need to lean into it and let it flow through me or just accept it and move on? Am I taking myself out of trying something new – how can I honor myself and just do it!

How is my feel-good list looking these days?

Am I doing my:

Qi Qong, yoga, walk, swim

Journaling

Anything creative

Laughing

Watching a good show

Reading a good book

Learning something new

Meditating

Am I doing something I enjoy each day and spending some time in gratitude recognizing it and the beautiful day I had?

What will I do in this season of my life to honor myself?

In this season of my life, what’s most sacred to me, is aligning with myself, with my inner wisdom and intuition, listening to my own yes and no’s and giving my love to my spouse, my children and their spouses, my grandchildren, my family and friends and basking in that light and sharing it wherever I go. Standing confidently in myself – knowing job well done so far – even with your mistakes, failures, ups and downs – loving myself fully and compassionately.

How are you honoring yourself these days? I would love to hear all about it.