I Find It Both Fascinating And Terrifying That Everyone Has Their Own Story To Tell And Yet We Barely

I find it both fascinating and terrifying that everyone has their own story to tell and yet we barely manage to catch the smallest glimpses of them. We judge someone on what we think we know about them, and it hardly ever occurs to us that the only thing we really know is the way people present themselves to others. We only ever get to see the good parts they decide to show us. It’s scary to think that there is a girl we all know who hides her bruises underneath heavy scarves and turtlenecks, and her pain behind a smile. That the boy around the corner cries himself to sleep every night because he can’t find it in himself to get up every morning and face the world that’s always been too hard on him. We pass men in the streets who just broke up with their girlfriends, their hearts heavy with grief because they would pull down the stars for them but don’t feel like they’re enough. We meet people who cheated and others who were cheated on, we talk to people who buried their darkest secrets so deep in their hearts, they wonder why they poison them from within. We talk about the most basic things, but we never learn that these people may still suffer from their parents’ divorce, that they lost the love of their life, that they have a brother or a mother or a father they don’t speak to anymore. That they wish they had someone to talk to about these kind of things, the relevant things, the strokes of fate and tragedies that really make us who we are and shape us as people. Strangers you’ve never met could have gone through the same thing you did. People you’ve known all your life could be struggling to hold on, to keep fighting - and you’d never know. It’s frightening, isn’t it? We only ever see what others want us to see. And that’s why we shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

(via ninasdrafts)

#SelfLoveSunday

10 Essential Daily Self-love Practices For Your Healing Journey

1. Meditation - being present with ourselves. Making time to set down the mental baggage we accumulate throughout each day reduces stress & improves our mental health over time.

2. Mindfulness - grounding ourselves in the now. The present moment is where we experience our deepest joy. We must love ourselves enough to lose our mind and come to our senses when our thoughts wander away from the now.

3. Breath - the essence of life. Consciously taking deep breaths throughout the day has a calming effect on the body & mind and stops shallow breathing which can induce stress.

4. Nature - reconnecting with ourselves. Immersing ourselves in nature is essential for our healing because it influences the subconscious to create peaceful thoughts. There is no wifi in nature, but we are guaranteed to find a better connection.

5. Rest - making time to do nothing. Living our lives by the clock takes its toll on the body and mind - this is why we need to make time to rest. Rest does not mean spending hours in front of screens - it means completely relaxing the body and mind.

6. Tribe - surrounding ourselves with positive people. We cannot hope to heal ourselves if we are surrounded by negativity, we must spend our time with those who support and nurture our growth. A hot air balloon can’t take flight if it’s tied to the weights on the ground.

7. Diet - what we feed the body & mind. We are what we eat, if we are consuming positive content we will manifest positive thoughts. If we feed ourselves healthy foods we will manifest better physical & mental health.

8. Exercise - letting the yang energy flow. Strenuous exercise such as running allows us to release yang energy, expressing this energy through the body helps us to let go of anger & resentment.

9. Bathing - taking care of the vessel. Cleaning our vessels regularly promotes physical health and is a form of self-love. A regular hygiene practice also promotes self-confidence.

10. Creativity - expressing ourselves without limits. Repressed emotions are a common cause of mental health challenges, allowing these emotions to be expressed through creativity prevents them manifesting as poor mental and physical health.