Healing is hard. Becoming more self aware is hard. Realizing the areas where you need to grow is so hard. I have seen this so many times from spiritual accounts and Pinterest and whatever other places, but it never really stuck. It just seems like such an obvious statement, but then it hits you like a ton of bricks when you’re in the middle of it. Sometimes, it is pure bliss to recognize where you can grow or improve and other times, it feels like it could make you crumble into a million pieces. Sometimes, it feels like you could wrap yourself in a blanket and hide from the rest of the world for however long feels right. Other times, it feels like you’re on top of the world, that you are inching closer towards your higher self. One thing that I have learned in this crazy journey is to be kind to yourself. Treat yourself how you would treat your friends, your loved ones, your significant other. Ask yourself, “Would I talk to others this way?”. When you’re down in the dumps because you feel like you suck or you keep making the same mistakes, remember to talk to yourself like you would comfort someone you love. You would never bash your friends for a mistake they made or a bad decision. You would remind them of all of the good qualities about themselves and why they are lovable. Our inner voice can be one of the cruelest voices we will ever experience, but why? Why do we kick ourselves when we’re down? Maybe it is because we secretly like self loathing a little. Maybe it is because it is easier to stay down than to pick ourselves back up. But, when we are functioning from a state of wallowing in self pity and sadness and anger or whatever emotions you may feel, we are furthering ourselves from our highest potential. That doesn’t mean that we can’t feel these emotions of sadness and grief but we can’t sit in them and let them over stay their welcome. We can acknowledge these feelings and then let them pass like a quick rolling thunderstorm in the summer. Let the rain of the feelings wash away as quickly as they came and search for the rainbow in the distance. Make sure to wrap yourself in love and patience because you deserve it so much. Treat yourself with compassion because you are stuck with yourself forever. The sooner we learn this, the door of self love will open more and more until our negative self talk fades into the void. It will eventually rear its head again, but you will be better prepared to handle it. You will be able to laugh in its face because you know that it does not serve you.
The Inexperienced Yogi 