Honor Thyself. This seems like a pretty straightforward concept. Generally, I think of myself as capable of grasping seemingly straightforward concepts, fairly, easily, but not this one. This one took some time. There were some fuzzy, fine lines between concepts of self-care, selfishness, selfless, indulgence, sacrifice, caregiver/caretaker, egoic-identity, spirituality, and probably a few others that swam around in what at times might have been a cesspool, contaminating the clarity of my own truth. Much of my life was spent in trying to do or be something, e.g. an excellent student, an intelligent woman, a present, loving mother, a good wife, a caring teacher, a conscious human being, etc., etc., etc. In all those years, in all that time, I was learning and slowly coming to understand grasping the concept of Honor Thyself. Therein, it also served as a good check-in with humility.

In today’s world of self-development, we often hear concepts and terms, as listed above, and the internal wrestling that we experience with their application. We want to do the “right” thing, the “good” thing, the “wise” thing, the “best” thing in any situation. We read, listen to others talk, recommend, share their expertise, and of course look up the latest research and trend. Lots of information, and for most, our decisions will reference something that comes from outside ourselves. Within our cultures, our society, our own families, we have cultivated a distrust in our own Self and have given least attention to our internal resource that aligns us with an understanding and knowing of how to Honor Thyself.

However, we are not cursed by this. Like every encounter in Life, it all serves us in some way. We, at this very moment, are fully capable of cultivating our thoughts by honing our capacity to listen to our-Self. Reminders are all around, and that is what they are, simply to remind us of what we already know. They resonate when we are ready, “ripe”, in that moment to receive. As humans, we tend to take time and practice lots, until it sinks into what feels like a perfect fit. 

Practice distilling thoughts to the ones, that in stillness, match the feeling of the “perfect fit”, the ones that resonate, give energy, and not the ones that deplete your energy. It seems quite simple and it can Be, once we have cleaned out the cesspool of all the ways in which our misaligned thoughts have contaminated our clarity. Self-care becomes an honor. Thoughts of selfish vs. selfless, indulgence vs. sacrifice, giving vs. taking, egoic identity vs. spirit, all dissipate into becoming One with, simply, caring for You. The distilling-stillness is a “free of judgment kind of zone”. There, self-care is stripped down to the honor in which can emerge the practice of living Life in Honor of Thyself.

Contrary to some beliefs this will not separate you from others, in fact to Honor Thyself, You Honor All, because we are all interconnected. We need not fear reckless abandon of anything because the fullness of your Presence, Alignment, and what Is the true meaning of Honor Thyself has the capacity to attend to whatever you encounter in any moment. 

You can give your full attention to, Honor Thyself, the real and best of you, in your thoughts, your feelings, and actions. Your contribution counts. The magnitude is of great proportion and it co$ts you nothing, but your pure intention to Honor Thyself. 

[Photo: Allie/Unsplash]