Hello! Yes, it’s been quite a while since I posted anything. The year 2022 was a wonderful, whirlwind year for me! Those who know me, know that Juan and I moved from North Carolina to Granada, Spain this year. Since arriving in Spain, we’ve spent time getting to know our new home and our new community, and we just love it here!
As we begin this new year of 2023, I feel like it’s time for me to get back on track. For me a big part of getting back on track is identifying my focus for the year. Over the past six years or so, I’ve begun each year with a word, One Word, that would be my inspiration for the year. And, each year I feel like the word chooses me more than I choose the word. It’s kinda cool how when you set an intention to choose a word and then open yourself to receiving it, the word reveals itself to you. My word last year was “Becoming.” I was’t really sure what I was becoming it just felt like the right word. What I became was a health and life coach. More on that another day…
As I reflect on this past year of 2022, something I’ve noticed is that my NEW word for 2023 has already been guiding me all through this past year. I was looking back at some of the posts from the beginning of last year and they each had to do with Love. Then I did a review of the books I read this past year and again, several of them had to do with Love. This has helped me realize that LOVE is my One Word for 2023. While the word Love was a common theme for me in 2022, in 2023 there will be a greater emphasis on SELF-Love. The year 2023 will be MY journey of SELF-Love.
This is where YOU come in! I decided it would be a good idea to invite others to come along on this journey because something I’ve DISCOVERed is that many of the women I talk to have a difficult time expressing what self-LOVE looks like. Often the women I talk to tell me about how they love to do things for others and how good it makes them feel to do so. BUT, that is not SELF-LOVE. Doing things for others is called “service.” While it is important to do service, and yes, it makes you feel good, very often we get so caught up in our service to others that we forget to fill our own cup.
Before we know it, we are stressed out and over-tasked, and maybe even a little resentful toward the people we love. We silently withhold our resentment about how “I do this” and “I did that.” All the while feeling slighted and neglected because the ones we love don’t reciprocate, they don’t do things for us. Think about it. Do you ever find yourself thinking things like, “I’ve worked hard in this house all day, the least you could do is take off your shoes.” Or “I do ALL these nice things for So-and-So and all I get is (fill in the blank).” These types of thoughts and feelings could indicate that you are doing for others but maybe not enough for yourself.
Last Monday, it occurred to me that if I invited others to join me on this SELF-Love journey, perhaps we could share the collective wisdom of each of us. SELF-Love is different for every person and we can always learn from one another. We can lift each other up and help each other grow in self-love.
So, this is YOUR official invitation to join me in 2023 for the “MY Self-LOVE Journey.” Why not make it YOUR Self-LOVE Journey too!
There’s no fee to participate in this journey, just a willingness to DISCOVER how to love yourself better than ever. If this sounds like something you desire or need, the only thing you have to do is get a journal to record your journey. Each week I’ll share a question, an observation, a quote, etc., and you simply respond to the posts in your journal. You are always welcome to share your thoughts, but that is completely optional.
I hope to see you along the way!
Love,
Charlotte
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