TO UNDERSTAND IS WISDOM ACTUALIZED

It is the illumination of wisdom you are the love story

Let’s linger on love for a little bit. After all, what’s really more important than that? But let’s also talk about love in a different way than we usually do. Consider this: Each of us is our own love story.

As a society, we put so much emphasis on the external, at the expense of our own individuation and integration. We’ve already discussed how we do this when we talk about beauty, but we also do

it when we talk about love. So, I implore you to do this one thing: Love yourself. That’s it. The elusive beauty secret you’ve been looking for is that simple. Love yourself, and love all of yourself especially your vulnerabilities and those parts of yourself that are so easy to write off or label as “ugly.” Love those areas that are tender or make you feel unsure, insecure, ashamed, or guilty. Love those parts of yourself that you have ousted to the margins or obscured in the shadows. Make your love for you flow freely, openly, without judgment or restrictions, conditions, or constraints, to all parts of yourself, east and west, north and south, along all latitudes and longitudes. Let the love flow freely through the channels of all of the rivers of yourself through the tributaries, over the mountain ranges, until they deposit into the deltas.

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Slow down to silence the chatter, deter the distractions, and make your way back home. To your real home to yourself. You can think of this as a form of self-initiation. In the Jewish tradition, it’s known as teshuva, or a return to self, and is addressed each year during the high holy days. In Jungian terms, it’s known as individuation, an integration of the anima and animus. In the Chinese philosophy of Taoism, it’s the symbiotic and balanced relationship of the yin and the yang. If we want to have the full experience of our life destiny versus the prescribed experience and, really, who wants that? then it is a journey that is a bit mysterious and unknown. It’s a journey that we must take alone, albeit with some guidance, love, and support. It is a journey inward that is marked by dedication, discipline, and joy. It’s about self-politicking and being the agent of our own self-transformation. It’s self-care as social justice. You are going to become an activist to support yourself in finding and using your voice in the way that will allow you to create the life you want to live, at the pace that supports your sustained well-being.

Whether we recognize it or not, each and every one of us is our very own love story. Regardless of the status of your love life at this particular moment in time, you are the one you’ve been waiting for. You can stop looking outside of yourself for your better half. That better half is already inside of you. You only need to seek it out and to be tenacious in that quest. When you make yourself whole, that’s when you will bloom But first you have to do the work it takes practice, and it’s slow. Precisely because this process takes time and discipline and commitment, its results will last for a lifetime. Don’t you think it’s

about time you came home to yourself?

Self-love is not just any old love story, it’s the greatest love story of all time. Self-love is about communing with yourself to create authentic community. It isn’t about being controlled by something outside of yourself that you perceive as being greater than you. It is about your energy levels and understanding how to work with your energy so that you can function at an optimal level. It’s about connecting with the higher, elevated, enlightened self that functions above and outside the buzz of all the noise of the world. It is about bearing witness to who you are and who others are instead of being caught up or pulled down into the frenzy or the drama or the chaos. It’s about choosing the middle way rather than being pulled in extreme directions. It’s about getting back to basics. Health, wellness, well-being, and beauty are accessible to everyone, regardless of age or socioeconomic status. It is our birthright. Nature isn’t trendy, and neither is our nature. Kale is still kale even when it’s being “replaced” by mushrooms as the new hot ingredient. Regardless of whether or not kale is out of fashion, it still remains one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables and benefits our bones, hair, and skin. Likewise, we are still who we are even when our energy is low, when we feel depressed, irritable, malnourished, and weak. Even with all of this, there is still a strong, joyful, self within who is full of vitality. We are still deserving of our own love.

To uncover your optimal self, you just need to adjust some things, remove others, and add a dash of this and that. With a regular Slow Beauty practice, you can identify potential weaknesses and focus your attention on them to strengthen them before a potential fall. In this way, Slow Beauty is a prevention practice.

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