so doing this post is complicated…for me. the plan was to have spiritual leaders share some of their thoughts with you, but that didn’t materialise and here i am writing this post for you. and its complicated because as i think about it, i admit to myself that i struggle with loving myself in some ways everyday, but there are other ways in which i love myself freely, especially through loving others around me. and, we must love ourselves, because when we love ourselves, we give the people around us permission to love us more. and when we love others we also give them permission to love themselves more and become their best self yet. it is a beautiful circle.

one of the ways i bring in love into my life on a daily basis is through the people i choose to share my time and space with. one thing they have in common is that they try to live in love, honesty, giving and gratitude. they are my biggest fans even while they challenge me, and that is the way i like it. making me stronger. making me better.

and then there are the other less complicated things that i do to treat myself, to imbue a jolt of loveliness in a mundane day…like a an early morning jog while the sun rises, bright yellow roses or stark white stock blooms in a simple cylindrical vase, or coming home to the beautiful orchid blooms that my mother and my mother-in-law have loved and cared for and passed on to me to enjoy. or turning up the music ridiculously loud as i drive around, blocking out all the “noise” around and listening to whatever it takes to soothe or uplift my soul…and that can be anything on any given day, sometimes its cirque du soleil, beethoven, alanis, amy winehouse, alicia keys, movado, kartel, serani, or etana, and sometimes its the just the sweet voices of my girls singing along to “shoo fly, don’t bother me”. then there’s turning every shower into a spa experience with delicious smelling soaps and oils. and if i am lucky at the end of the day i steal a moment with a glass of wine and browse one of my dozens of magazines or coffee books (the stack (x2) goes as high as my bed head!) with my favourite scented candle or essential oils burning. and then, there is one of my sweetest treats, that i don’t do nearly as often as i should…picking up my bible and enjoying His word, basking in the peace and joy that only He can provide…you know what, this list is so long its crazy. there are just so many little and big ways to love yourself no matter how hectic you find your life to be…and after writing it i appreciate even more the beauty of my life…again i float a little higher. and retrospectively, since this post took days to be completed i know exactly why the plan to invite someone to share with you about loving yourself didn’t work out…because having done it myself has me loving me more!

and so, the last thing i want to share with you is about my experience at an industry seminar. its one of those moments that you expect to be fairly trite, but depending on your perspective, you can experience it in a different way…i had the privilege of meeting simon t. bailey, author of a transformational book, “release your brilliance“. he gave an amazing talk and after i thought i should buy his book and why not have him sign it since he was there… “aiesha, never stop believing that you are in the right place at the right time”. how many times have i heard that or a similar version before? many. but this was the first time i “got it”. for me that translates to being content with where you are, so that you can experience more in the moment and therefore see clearly to move forward to a higher place…of love

and so i say to you what he said to me…please believe that you are in the right place at the right time… and do us the favour of showing yourself love, so that our lives too, may be made brighter by your light.

more love,