#jan richardson
Why is Knowing Yourself So Important?
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF IS THE LONGEST RELATIONSHIP YOU WILL EVER HAVE
From birth to death, there is no one else you will talk to more, sit with more, or be with more. To engage with yourself and participate fully into discovering who you are is an act of art and beauty.
SELF-AWARENESS LEADS TO BETTER RELATIONSHIPS
Being detached from yourself can contribute to broken relationships with friends and family. The better you know and love yourself, the better you’ll be able to know and love others.
SELF-AWARENESS HELPS US NAVIGATE THE WORLD
When we operate from a centered understanding of self, attuned to who we are and what our values are, it makes a difficult world a little easier to navigate.
“Knowing” Takes Love and Wonder
“But here is the thing: it takes love to notice and to wonder. A reality where love is at the core of all things is one attuned to be seen only through eyes of love. Only when we first love do we begin to attend, to listen, to understand, to know. Why would we think that reality would disclose itself to uncaring, indifferent, suspicious “knowers”?! We can and should cultivate wonder — a posture of wonder. This is trained readiness to be astounded. The readiness is that of a lover anticipating being delighted. Such training doesn’t quell wonder; it enhances it, it broadens the range of our capacity to wonder.”
Esther Meek
Four Promises You Can Make to Yourself
- I WILL STAY CURIOUS
Take a curious posture towards yourself, open to learn something new about who you are — wondering who you might be right now. - I WILL PAY ATTENTION
Pay attention to yourself. It’s easy to fall asleep to your own desires and dreams. We can love ourselves by tuning our ears to ourselves and allowing ourselves to observe ourselves. This takes a huge amount of intentionality. You have to prioritize your needs as much as you do the needs of others. - I WILL BE CREATIVE
How you love yourself is completely unique to YOU. You are on a journey with yourself, get creative with what loving looks like to you. There is no right or wrong way and what works for loving today may not work tomorrow. - I WILL GIVE MYSELF GRACE
Life is full of ups and downs, is sometimes incredibly magical, at other times bleakly dark. The adventure of loving yourself, while beautiful, is also difficult: give yourself grace on the journey.
An Invitation to Love and Know
WHAT ARE WAYS YOU ARE ALREADY LOVING YOURSELF?
Take a moment this week to do something as an act of love to yourself.
WHO IS INSIDE YOU?
Take a moment this week to think through what “cast of characters” lives inside you. Give these characters names, qualities, and personalities — this cast of who lives inside you may shift and change through the years!
A Blessing For Knowing
To receive this blessing / it may feel like you are peeling back /
Every layer of flesh / exposing every nerve / baring each bone /
That has kept you upright. / It may seem every word is written /
On the back of something / that your life depends upon /
That to read this blessing / would mean tearing away /
What has helped you remain intact. / Be at peace. /
It will not be as painful as that / though I cannot say it will be easy /
To accept this blessing / written as it is upon your true frame /
Inscribed on the skin / you were born to live in. /
The habits that keep you from yourself /
The misconceptions other have of you /
The unquestioned limits / you have allowed /
The smallness you have squeezed into / these are not who you are. /
This blessing simply wants / all this to fall away /
This blessing — / and it is stubborn on this point / I assure you — /
Desires you to know yourself / as it knows you /
To let go / of every layer that is not you /
To release / each thing you hide behind /
To open your eyes / to see what it sees /
How this blessing has blazed in you / since before you were born /
How it has sustained you / when you could not see it /
How it haunts you / prickling beneath your skin /
To let it shine forth / in full and unstinting measure /
How it begins and ends / with your true name
Jan Richardson
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