Today we welcome Sandi Amorim as our guest author. Sandi is doing beautiful things at devacoaching.com! After every inspiring visit there I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to have her for a coach! Take it away Sandi!

Rumi said, “Be soulful, Be kind, Be in Love” and it made me wonder how many of us can say we are this way for ourselves.

I spent a month last year focused on self-care. I wrote about it, got all inspired about it, and then. . .it faded away like many commitments that never became solid habits.

What to do? Simplify, that’s what. What if we use Rumi’s words as a guide to loving ourselves well putting a new spin on self-care?   Let’s explore this together and see where it leads.

Be Soulful…

This made me think of meditation, but there are many ways to touch the soul.

Years ago I took singing lessons, and when I sang from a place deep within, I felt soulful. It wasn’t that I was singing spiritual songs, but that I was singing from a part of myself usually protected. And when I did my voice was rich, full of emotion, reaching out to others while at the same time reaching inwards to my heart.

Or how about walking a labyrinth, one of my favourite things to do. I used to think there was a right way to do it, but now I know that sometimes it feels like a meditation and other times it feels playful and light. Either way, it’s soulful.

Be Kind…

Random acts of kindness. . .fun, creative and challenging if you don’t want to get caught! But that’s not what I’m talking about; I’m talking about turning it inwards and being kind to yourself.

How often do you consider kindness for yourself? If you’re like me, you probably take care of others much better than you care for yourself.

I bought myself a bunch of glorious yellow daffodils today. My intention was to buy them for a friend, but as I walked home I pictured them on my dining room table and I’m happy to say that’s where they are now! That’s how I realized the best access to kindness towards myself is observing my kindness to others.

Be in Love…

Ahh, love. How many of us love ourselves in that memorable way we feel when we fall in love? Think back to a time you loved like that; it’s a way of being like no other. It’s not just loving though, it’s about being with someone exactly the way they are and even, the way they are not.

Now imagine loving yourself like that, exactly the way you are right now. Nothing to fix or change. Just love, sweet love for your awesome self.  Rumi’s call to action is simple: “Be soulful, Be kind, Be in Love”

How do you define soulful?  How are you kind to yourself? How do you lovingly take care of yourself?

photo of daffodils: Sandi