I am currently reading Louise Hay’s book “You Can Heal Your Life”. The one thing that she focuses on is that you need to love yourself before you can love anyone else. She says that no matter what your problems seem to be, loving yourself can work miracles in your life. One of her suggestions is a mirror exercise that I decided to work on with my children. I posted a 3 x 5 card on the mirror and we are to look into our eyes in the mirror and say: “(name) I love you and accept you exactly as you are” (I changed it up a bit from what Hay had in her book). I was met with calm uncertainty as I explained this to my two boys, Joseph (12) and Luke (9). I left them alone as they took their turn in the bathroom, behind closed doors of course. Joseph told me he quietly looked into his eyes and repeated the words on the card, whereas the first time Luke did this exercise, he had to repeat it in his mind because of his self-consciousness. Although the second time he asked me to stand next to him and he was able to say it out loud (progress already!). McKenzie (7) on the other hand was only too excited to try it several times. Trying to remember all the words and glowingly looking into her eyes she repeated the phrase. After which she ran around the house joyfully singing “McKenzie, I love you! McKenzie, I love you!”
It’s easy to go through life living on the outside, afraid and ignoring what’s going on inside. But I believe that once we truly begin to love and respect ourselves and our bodies, we will have a better sense of who we are meant to be and feel free to be that wonderful person.
I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of this exercise. I feel pretty certain it will have a big impact on their confidence. My hope is that they will treat themselves a little more kindly when they get upset with themselves, and in turn have a little more patience and respect for each other.
