Loving What's Moi

I've been given a blog-challenge by a good friend, Carol Skolnick (www.soulsurgery.blogspot.com). I was asked to name five things I love about myself, write it in my blog, and pass the challenge along to all of YOU!

How many of you were taught never to speak highly of yourself? Were you told to be "humble", play small and keep your head down? How often do we get to compliment ourselves, boast our talents and sing our own praises? Often times, when people have voiced their own self-love, they've been condemned for being selfish or an ego-maniac. Other times folks who are outspoken about themselves were putting themselves above others in the same breath. It is possible to love yourself madly, and still be on a level playing field with your fellow man. You can think you're the cat's meow, and at the same time think the same of everyone else. So let's break this cycle of keeping ourselves small. Let's all sing our own praises -- we're all special, we're all beautiful and we're all worthy of our own tender admiration. Here's the place, and now's the time.

Please join me in this little game... When you've finished reading this, please send your own personal answers to stephanie@evolvingarts.com and I'll be glad to post your writings (with or without your name attached), or simple fill in your answers under "comments" below. We all need a little practice and reminder of our own self worth... So let the games begin!

Reasons that I love being Stephanie:

1. I love my tenaciousness.

I'll go for things, no matter how big. I'm willing to take great leaps of faith, even though I'm scared. I'll take on huge projects (tv shows) and barrel forward without looking back. I can be a tough cookie. I can be bold and brave. I adore unraveling myself, redesigning my life, embracing new information, and continually transforming my environment. I love change, I embrace the future, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to manifest a life that I love. I love that about me.

2. I love my compassion and empathy.

Since I was little, I was aware that I could easily put myself into anyone else's shoes... the bully, the loner, the "nerd"... The handicapped, the outcasts, even criminals, murders, orphans, minorities. People who were depressed, angry, confused, bitter, ashamed... You name it, I could somehow relate or understand how they felt what they felt, or did what they did. And I've yet to meet a human being that I couldn't understand and love. Not one. I love that about me.

3. I love my willingness to take hard, honest looks at myself and admit my weaknesses.

I'm pretty darn good about owning my "stuff". I know the quirks I have, I know my weaknesses. And I'll admit them to just about anybody. I'll readily admit that at moments in my life I have stolen, lied, hurt people, acted phony, led people on, played it safe, hated myself, been ashamed of my actions, been unbearably self conscious, am a loner, don't care for people sometimes, struggle with my relationship to food, manipulated people, hate my body, and the list goes on and on and on... Now sometimes this fearless inventory of myself doesn't necessarily mean that I change my behaviors, but I'll admit my weaknesses none the less. I love that about me.

4. I love that I have an amazing artistic eye.

I'm a great artist. I've got a damn good eye when it comes to art, design, interior spaces, sculpture, photography, sewing, etc. I'm a wonderful painter, with a style unlike anyone elses. I can easily do any artform that is visual. It just comes naturally to me. I SEE things differently than most and I like this special skill. It brings me lots of joy -- most everything in my life revolves around making things beautiful. I love that about me.

5. I love how intuitive I am, and how well I can read and understand people instantly.

Tuning into people is one of my strongest strengths. I can crawl into people's skin, figure out what makes them tick. I know how to make them feel comfortable or at ease, or can physically feel where their life is off and needs rebalancing. I can hear where people are stuck in their lives. I can tell where their issues are. I'm super sensitive to body language, and I take pride in how accurate and quick I've become at this skill over the years. I love that about me.

Now...what do YOU love about yourself?

(Thanks Carol! You're so inspiring... I love that about YOU!)

©2007 Stephanie McWilliams