The self love diet isn’t a fad, it’s a pathway to vibrant health and well being.

The term was recently introduced to me and I really resonated with it. So much so that I felt like sharing it with the Steemit community. Framing self care practices as a diet really helped me wrap my mind/body/spirit around it. Lately I’ve been on a strict diet of self love.

I’ve tried out a lot of diets from the SAD (Standard American Diet), to vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, paleo to locavore. None have changed my life as much as the diet of self love has.

This diet is a prescription to take more care and be more loving to yourself. It’s of course created for and by YOU.

My gramma’s advice: “hug yourself because you’re special and you’re worth it!”

For me it’s been about centered “enoughness”. As a male in Western culture, I have been influenced by the patriarchal trappings of productivity, action and results. Feelings of not being enough, not doing enough and not having enough have been with me since childhood. Although it can stimulate me into action, it’s really a destructive thought pattern. The thoughts that I’m not enough bring up questions of self worth, of rejection and scarcity and lack.

I am not created to live in such a way. A diet of self love is honoring the unique and beautiful being that I am.

A huge part of my journey this winter has been around taking more time to rest. I push myself so hard to work work work. The tasks on the homestead are never ending, and I can fall into the trap of feeling like I’m not doing enough.

I work with zest and passion, but even so it’s not a balanced approach. This ultimately leads to overwhelm, stress and exhaustion. By witnessing and honoring what has been accomplished and listening to the prodding of seasonal shifts, I have been on a diet of self love that inspires down time, rest, rejuvenation and space.

I have also been practicing an affirmation to solidify my enoughness. It has helped a lot in letting enoughness land in my mind/body/spirit.

I (your name) am safe to be enough, just the way I am.

I (your name) am free to be enough, just the way I am.

My friends and family accept me (your name) as enough, just the way I am.

Another aspect of my diet of self love is returning to mantra and meditation practice. This is something I used to be much more involved with, but as the homestead began to encompass my entire life, it has fallen to the wayside. Reviving a daily practice is a major step towards loving and honoring myself and the opportunity I have in this human form.

We’ve written about our process of kick starting the practice for 40 days and would also encourage anyone interested to check out @ecoalex’s post offering a 7 day meditation challenge.

So far I’m integrating and digesting the shifts in perspective this diet is offering. I’ve been appreciating the rest and the extra space is truly healing. The real challenge will be when spring hits and the TO DO list gets really long. Hopefully enoughness will have penetrated deeply into my core.

We all have ways we can become more whole (the root of healing) and I’m inspired by the opportunity that winter affords in reflection. Have you been listening to the inner voice?

I’d love to hear YOUR perspective on this.

What does your diet of self love look like?

How to you love yourself?

I would sincerely love to see this conversation spread as it has tremendous potential for re-creating a culture where we are all more loving to ourselves, and ultimately healthier, happier and stronger people.

Thanks for reading! This post is written by a passenger on the #ecotrain. Choo choo! Let’s meditate!