I was raised believing that taking care of
your physical appearance is vanity. That spending time doing something you
alone wanted to was selfish. That it is better to give than to receive.
When I became a spiritual adult, a learning
enquiring soul on my life’s journey looking for answers, I started finding many
loopholes in my childhood beliefs and learnings. I questioned everything I had
been taught. I started unlearning and taking on new beliefs. One of my first
life lessons was that you cannot pour from an empty vessel.
So yes, absolutely give, but make sure you
have something that you can physically part with. Be it money, or energy, or
love.
Yes, some people are natural givers, but
most people find it far easier to take what is given to them than to worry
about its origins. Nobody will worry about whether you have surplus enabling
you to part with some, they will be sure to take and receive what they need.
So who checks in on you? Who makes sure
that you have reserves? Or even sufficiency? That, my friend, is YOUR job.
Nobody else can make you happy, nobody else can make you love yourself, nobody
else can appreciate you until YOU gift it to YOURSELF. Massages, medicals,
clothing, decent underwear, a haircut, exercise, finances, spiritual gifts –
only you can ensure that you have these. It creates so much jealousy and
resentment, whether intentional or not, when everybody around you has what they
need, because you have ensured it is so, and you have nothing. Or insufficient.
And the truth is, you deserve so much. Make
sure that you are acknowledge your worth and that you truly do prioritize your
needs. Prioritize yourself. It’s the least you can do.
