I have a
cold. I hate spring colds. Just when the weather is finally getting better and
you yearn to be outdoors with the birds and the bees, you suddenly start
sneezing about 15 times in a row and your eyes start feeling like they are
sinking under water. “Maybe it’s just my allergies,” you try to reassure
yourself, except you know don’t have any spring allergies. You have fall
allergies. Then the headache and the urge for a blanket, a cup of tea and
endless reruns of Columbo all converge on you and you know without a doubt –
you have a cold.
At this
point we remember that old tried and true saying passed down from mother to
daughter for generations: “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” So you brew a pot of
herbal tea and make sure you have OJ and soup on hand. Actually, what you’re
doing is making sure that you stay hydrated in order to flush the cold virus
out of your system.
It occurred
to me as I curled up on the recliner with lemon ginger tea at my side and my
journal on my lap that it would be lovely if we could stretch this idea to
include starving those bad habits and beliefs that no longer serve us and
flushing them right out of our system. If we don’t feed them, or encourage
them, they die. For example, how many times do we criticize ourselves, judge ourselves,
speak harshly to ourselves and buy into what other people say about us? We
spend hours being bombarded by ads that tell us that we’re not acceptable
unless we lose 30 pounds, use certain make-up, wear designer clothes or drive a
certain car. We believe people who tell us we’re not smart enough, pretty
enough, worth loving or capable of achieving our dreams. All of that can add up
to a pretty heft case of unhappiness fever.
So how do we
flush all those nasty defeating behaviors out of our system? By filling
ourselves up with positive beliefs every minute of every day. Like a cup full
of nasty tasting medicine, if we just keep pouring sweet nectar into the cup,
eventually it will push the nasty stuff out and the cup will overflow with
nectar. I am a big fan of Louise Hay’s Mirror Work and I can’t think of a
better brand of nectar to use to flush out what is making us heart sick. For
example, every time you pass a mirror, you look into your eyes and say
something positive, like: “I love you, I really love you.” Coach and author
Cheryl Richardson keeps a mirror on her desk and has a whole litany of positive
affirmations she uses, such as: “You’re the smartest woman I know,” or, “I
always have your back,” and, my favorite, “How’d you get so cute?” The ones I personally
use are: “You are perfectly capable for every situation”,” I am enough,” “Only good lies before me,” and “All is
well.”
When we take
the time to treat ourselves like we would treat our best friend, we flush out
everything that no longer serves us, or is making our lives “sick,” and create
a beautiful and healthy relationship with ourselves, the most important
relationship we’ll ever have. If we don’t “feel well” when we’re alone with
ourselves, how are we supposed to build healthy relationships with others? We
have to make ourselves a priority and treat ourselves in healthy and healing
ways.
So today I
am giving myself the gift of extreme self-care. I am keeping the fluids going,
making sure to flush out the bad stuff to make room for good health. I am
eating healthy foods, popping my vitamin C and curling up with a good book. I
may even allow myself a nap later. Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll feel better. What
a nice way to care for my BFF!
And so it
is.
