“With a daily ritual of self-care, an inner worthiness begins to blossom.
Once it does you will find the courage
to act in ways that are self-expressive and self-protective.
You will start caring for each part of yourself with
a fierce and tender concern.”
~Alice Domar
Over the past twenty-five years counseling clients, I have witnessed the devastating impact that a lack of self-worth has on people’s lives. When we feel unworthy we do not express ourselves or protect ourselves fully.
As a result, we end up living a life that is based on other people’s needs rather than our own, which leads to feelings of resentment and negativity.
When we do not value ourselves we also have a limited of view of what is possible in our lives and may remain in situations that are disempowering. We end up not prioritizing time to nurture and care for ourselves, which leads to even more feelings of unworthiness.
But the good news is, there is another way!
I have found that as we consistently nurture ourselves, we feel more empowered and recognize our true value and worth. It is a beautiful self-fulfilling cycle. The more we nurture ourselves, the better we feel about ourselves, which leads us to nurture ourselves more.
Just by taking a small step to care for yourself, you are taking a stand for yourself and your life!
And the benefits are infinite. As we develop practices of self-nurturing, we easily open our hearts to ourselves and others, deepen our compassion, find our discoverable strengths and recognize and appreciate our inner goodness and worth.
Through the empowering practice of self-nurturing we reclaim our lives and express ourselves in authentic, mindful and powerful ways. We are better able to protect ourselves and create a life with peace and joy.
Self-nurturing is the fastest route to truly loving ourselves.
I love this zen poem by Pamela Metz and Jacqueline Tobin reminding us to water our own gardens first.
“Grounded”
Stretching herself too thin, she breaks her connections.
Staying too busy, she has no time.
Doing for others, she neglects herself.
Defining herself only through others, she loses her own definition.
The wise woman waters her own garden first.
May you take the fastest route to love by nurturing yourself today and may you continue to nurture peace in the world from the inside out.
Please share your comments below to inspire and encourage others. Thank you!
Sending you so much peace, love and gratitude,
Kelley Grimes, M.S.W.
Counselor, Author & Speaker
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Lovely, Kelley. I immediately realized that I need to clear my desk as a self-loving act. But first wanted to leave this note of gratitude for you and your always timely reminder for us to act with the greatest possible self-love.
Reba I love your clarity about your self-loving and nurturing act! I so appreciate your kind comments and that you feel reminded to act with the greatest possible self-love! I hope your day is beautiful!
I’m going to get the watering can and water my garden first. Thanks so much for the reminder, Kelley! xo
Linda I am so happy to hear that! Isn’t that poem wonderful? I love the simple yet profound wisdom of watering our garden first. Thank you so much!
“Water your own garden first.” I love that!
I love this quote too Barb. Imagine if we all came from a place of deep nurturing for ourselves and then could spread more love, compassion and kindness in the world – what a difference we could all make! Thank you so much for your comment.
I love your “Grounded” words and the sentence, “The wise woman waters her own garden first.” Self-nurturing is vital to our happiness and has to begin with YOU. It’s an inside job!
One of the authors of the poem Pamela Metz was one of my professors in graduate school and I am so grateful to her and Jacqueline Tobin for their beautiful zen poems directing us back to ourselves. I totally agree that self-nurturing is vital to our happiness and is an inside job. Thank you so much Debra!
Kelley love this , the poem is beautiful , thank you I have someone who needs to read this. I know that taking time to care for me first is so important. if we don’t so often out body breaks down to remind us xx
Suzie you are so right that our bodies will remind us that we need to nurture ourselves, if we will only listen! So glad that you do and that this poem could inspire someone else to do the same. Thank you so much!
“Self-nurturing is the fastest route to truely loving ourselves”
I just me you today, and this is one of my big takeaways. We too often forget about the “me”, and without this foundation, love, and respect for oneself, the ground beneath us becomes unstable for ourselves, and those around us who love and support us. This is one place I will start, thank you!
Heather you beautifully articulated the importance of nurturing ourselves as it is the foundation of loving and supporting others. I love how you wrote the ground beneath us becomes unstable for ourselves and others when we neglect caring for ourselves. Thank you so much for your comment! May you have a nurturing day!