You know the cute store you’ve been in, the one where you want to buy everything? The way the store is decorated and displayed- things are color coordinated, the scents of the bath and beauty products smell sooooo good, and all the packaging is so pretty.
There’s an ambiance to it, the vibe you get from the store makes you feel a certain way, in a good way. And when you eventually leave the store, you feel better about yourself, even if you didn’t buy anything.
You can tell that the owner put so much thought and care into purchasing and presenting the products in such a way. It was intentional, and it took time and effort.
Those types of stores are so charming. You can’t help but to pick up each thing like it’s the most delicate thing you’ve ever laid your hands on.
You can walk into a Home Goods when it’s busy and it’s overwhelming how disorganized and messy everything is. Things are on the floor, some packaging has been opened, you can find a box of pasta in the bedding section. But you’ll never see that in the cute store.
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Even during the busy times, people have too much respect for those stores to not mindlessly throw things around. If they pick something up, they put it back where they took it from, with just as much thought and care as when the shop keeper purchased and displayed it.
That’s the same way it should be for our thoughts, the way we feel, the way we show up, and the way we live. It should be a careful, thoughtful collection of only things we want, things that help us to grow, things that make us proud to be who we are.
This isn’t done in a way to dismiss, diminish, or ignore the past or the things that are going wrong, but to honor ourselves- to honor what we’ve overcome and who we’re growing into.
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Choose your thoughts as if you’re in that cute little store. Pick only the ones that are beautiful, not because they’re prettily packaged, but because they’re a reflection of who you want to be. Choose your thoughts with the same attention to detail as the shop keeper who spent hours looking for products to sell, not because you’re fragile, but because you cherish yourself.
Feed your mind with thoughts that nourish the healed version of yourself, not because you resent your past self, but because you want to give them a better life. Choose to be kind to yourself, not because you’re weak, but because you find strength in being gentle.
Show up for yourself, not because you have something to prove, but because you respect yourself too much to settle for anything short of what makes you happy. Nurture yourself, not because people say you should, but because it makes you feel good about yourself. Love yourself, not because no one else will if you don’t, but because a life without love isn’t who you are.
I’ll see you soon…in the meantime, love yourself so much that even a Hallmark Christmas movie would be jealous.
