Love is a practice.
There’s nothing riskier or more intoxicating than love.
Love is waking up every day and courageously making a choice to be in it — invested, committed, and present.
Love is honoring yourself.
Love is giving your attention and presence whole-heartedly, without agenda.
Love is being vulnerable to pain and going for it anyway.
Love is working with yourself in compassionate ways, even when you don’t like yourself.
Love is acceptance of that which is imperfect.
Love is allowing yourself to feel what you feel when you feel it, even if it doesn’t make sense logically.
Love is leading with your heart.
Love is trusting what you can’t always see.
Love is an on-going process, that’s ever-changing and ever-evolving.
Love is being grateful for moments and experiences that fill you up with the all the feels (even the painful stuff).
Love is being true to yourself.
Love is a choice.
Love is a practice.
LOVE PRACTICE TOOL:
Below is a love-enhancing practice I learned and adapted from a coach friend of mine, Jasmin Bristow. My husband and I use this practice every evening. If you’re single, you can do this exercise with yourself just as effectively!
Take turns with each item below (in that order), saying your answers out loud. If you are doing the practice alone, you can either say your answers out loud or write them down.
- Gratitude: Each person names 3 things they’re grateful for. It’s important that you trust the process, knowing that nothing you say is too small or too big. Gratitude allows you to bring presence to it all. Try not to judge what comes to mind. Take a breath and let it flow.
- Magic Moment: Each person names one magic moment from the day. Again, the magic moment could be something major or it could be as simple as the color of the sky at dusk or laughing with a friend.
- Acknowledgement: Each person starts with the phrase “I love you every day and I fell in love with you again today when you _____________________” and then fill in the blank with something they did that made you appreciate them. If you’re doing this exercise with yourself, this is a great opportunity to acknowledge yourself from something you did to love yourself better.
- Intention Setting: Each person declares an intention for the following day that begins with: “Tomorrow I’m creating_____________________” and then fill in the blank with 1-3 ways of being for the following day. Please note: this should not be a “to do list” but rather a state of being that you’d intend on embodying. Example: Tomorrow I’m creating presence, passion and health.
If you decide to try this practice, aim to do it consecutively for 14-days. Take note of what shifts within you (and within your relationship, if you practice together).
No matter what, consider how you can love yourself a little more and a little better every day. If you need a reason to remember why it’s important to come back to love, read this.
If you liked this post, you might also appreciate this one and this one.
P.S. Want more ways to enhance your love practice? Try this free guided meditation or go deeper and use this self-care, self-guided retreat to reduce stress and gain awareness.
