“The divine energy in me honors the divine energy in you.” My yoga teacher told me this phrase, and I was reminded of the humility of life. At the end of our yoga practices, when we place our hands in the prayer position, she tells us that she wishes that we may always have a heart that loves and is filled with gratitude so we may find ourselves in abundance. I found this so beautiful that I constantly try to remind myself of it. We learn to find confidence within ourselves through the choices of words that we utter to ourselves.
The story of Gresson Peifier sharing the journey to knowing ourselves resonates with this; I call it the lightness of being. As Ocean Vuong once wrote, “Thank you for being,” I realized that life has different ways to offer us the realization of how we choose to flow with it. Realizations that we will only ever know if we sit with our own discomforts — emotions, triggers, dislikes, and everything that makes us avoid shortcomings.
Gresson Peifier says that life is like solving the puzzle within you. I am sure of our ability to remain in love and that it will find us. We only have to sit with it first. How we navigate our lives depends on the weight of love we have for ourselves, too.
“Love yourself” is a familiar phrase we always hear. And yet, it is only now that I realize its actual meaning. Loving yourself means the practice of being present. Being present is learning to be mindful; how are we feeling now? Are we meeting ourselves where we are? Are we checking up on ourselves on the ways we show up for experiences and people we have surrounding us? Loving yourself means knowing your inner energies and how they affect your flow, whether this is beneficial for you or not. Through this, we can find the answers to the gaps we see in our journey of discovering more in this little life we have. It is, admittedly, full of discomfort and frustrations we may tend to avoid. It’s triggering to peek through the chaos if we still are getting the hang of it, and yet I remember how I was taught in yoga the concept of meditation; it’s not about silencing your thoughts, however messy it gets, but rather about being comfortable to acknowledge, validate, and sit with it as we find harmony with our breath. Indeed, our energies are powerful; they flow because of the love we give and keep for ourselves. It reflects how we see gratitude, pulling positive energy towards us even if we find ourselves in our most vulnerable states.
Loving yourself is learning how to remain in love, whether that be finding love in your hobbies and interests, the current relationships you have, the dreams you set out, the places you discover, and all that brings joy and light. Loving others brings meaning to loving yourself, and if we are lucky enough to hold the different ways that shape our definition of love, keep it close and know that love will always find you through it. And, in case it gets frustrating along the way, as love has its ups and downs, know it is only ever human and know that showing up is a huge step to fuel our souls with the love that lives within us. As Gresson Peifier says, “Follow the spark in your heart,” and I guess that's all we ever need for now.
By June Danielle Folio