Higher Ground

I just finished a run, inspired and full of love. Many times I use running as a mechanism for inspiration. Inspiration pours through me and into me as I move my body. Perspiration for inspiration! (I’m going to copy right that!)

I listened to Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday as I ran on Mercy and Forgiveness. It is about a lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, who helps free people from death row. He said a quote that really resonated with me…”It is only when they can stand on higher ground, I can stand on higher ground.”

I stopped mid stride to write that quote down as goose bumps went up and down my body. I consider this a truth.

I don’t work with death row inmates, one day I hope to. I work with every day people. I work with the moms who are struggling with their identity, the recent graduates who struggle with the expectation that life/society has put on them, athletes tapping into their potential, former athletes who are redefining themselves, the men who want to be emotionally vulnerable and accepted, people who are questioning identity, who they are, and their purpose. I work with women who have been shamed for their bodies and struggle with body image. I work with people who struggle with confidence and self-worth. Teens who are trying to fit in, do what is right, and explore who they are all at the same time. And, everyone in between. (If you haven’t found yourself in one of these statements, then please reach out to me you, unicorn, you!)

Listening to that podcast, what stood out to me was this:

We are all in it. We all have to do the work. When one of us does the work and shares it, we uplift the others around us. When we talk about our stories, our struggles, our triumphs, we are telling the world not to be ashamed. We are telling each other to persevere.We are not the mistakes we’ve made. We may have made mistakes, but we are not a mistake.  We are not our successes. Our worth is not based on scale number, age, income, or how many houses you have. It is not how much you can squat or deadlift or how fast you can run a mile. It is not how good you look in a bikini or how many likes you have on your Facebook page. We are good. We are love. We are enough. We are worthy. We are human. As we accept that, as we work through our limitations and stories, we move to higher ground. We can only stay at higher ground if we help those around us move to higher ground. We are all connected and in this life together. Our only advancement happens together.

How do we do that?

Be kind. Share your journey. Do a random act of kindness. Listen to someone’s story. Offer compassion and grace. Learn who you are. Accept who you are. Be open to being wrong and seeing the world through different eyes. Get curious. Ask questions. Love without condition. Forgive, because you deserve it. When you get, give. Love yourself.

Action steps to take today:

• Seek to understand before being understood.  Look at some conflict in your life and begin asking questions. Can you have compassion and see their point of view? What needs of theirs and yours is not being met?
• Talk to a stranger. Listen to their story, ask questions, be open.
• Share your story with someone.
• Ask for help.
• Meditate for 5-10 minutes.
• Journal about your experiences of the day. What are you learning in life right now?
• Write yourself a love letter.

On this Monday, how can you stand on higher ground and how can you help other’s do the same? As a community, we can stand higher together.

Peace, Love, and Amity,

Jillie

 

Bring on 2014!

Yesterday was the last day of 2013, the last page of this book. The cover closed, you are free to read any book, to go anywhere, to do anything you want. The options and possibilities are endless. I often get caught up in great stories where I am captivated. I get lost in the characters and this alternate reality. The ending comes and I am saddened with this end, but I then am liberated from this captivity and set free to live my life again.

I leave in 2 weeks for Peru and my emotions are everywhere. I am so excited, nervous, scared, and ready to go. In the mean time, I am moving out of the place I am living. I love where I live and it has offered me stability, peace, and safety over the past six months, something that had been missing in my life. The woman I live with has become a close friend, mentor, and confidant. She is a wise woman with so much love and nourishment to give to the world. This morning I told her I was sad I was leaving. She replied,

Don’t be sad. Be happy that we had these moments. It is just a little death. A little death that is necessary for the next step. We all have little deaths in our lives and this is just another one.

How profound and appropriate for the day. In these deaths, opportunity and possibility are created. With the death of this last year, a birth is now happening. This birth can provide you with anything you dream. However, it is your book to write and your dream to make happen.

The last page of this book was yesterday. The captivation of 2013 has let you go and you are liberated to take on your life and your 2014 goals. The space is empty, ready to be filled with whatever you choose. So, make sure you choose wisely. Choose those things in your life that serve you for the better. Choose those things that are pushing you in the direction of your ambitions. Choose the relationships that support you, that make you feel good and healthy, that make you genuinely happy. Because this space is your life, not anyone else’s.

I want to share some of my 2014 goals with you, I hope they inspire you to take on your deepest dreams, as well.

1. Go to Peru, become fluent in Spanish, and help the women set up a sustainable program to achieve their vision for their community
2. Write 5 Chapters of my book
3. Establish my own business and be self-sustaining
4. Speak at 3 different schools in the area about self-love and setting goals
5. Move in with Jason and continue to grow our relationship together
6. Eat 80% vegan, and do 2 vegan cleanses throughout the year
7. Have a weekend workshop for women
8. Attend advanced Landmark and self-expression and leadership course
9. Pay 20% of my student loans off
10. Strengthen my immune system and stay healthy for all of 2014!

These goals excite me, they scare me, they challenge me, and they make me believe in myself and my potential. With a new start, I have everything I need inside of me. I am capable of all of this and can make this all happen. This year I embrace my worth and value, I create a good, healthy relationship with money, I love myself, and I  help others in every way I can. I am doing this because I deserve it. And so do you.

Thank you for all the support and follows over the past year. I write because I am inspired and I love to write. My posts are more sporadic because I let this come from the heart. Thank you for taking it into yours. To our health, our happiness, and our future endeavors we take on. May we always love ourselves and love each other. Happy New Year!!

I am Light

The past month has been a challenging month for me. I have been struggling with my own journey of self-love and forgiveness. And just like the rest of life, there are ups and downs and twists and turns. There is a song that I have been listening to that has helped me on my rough days and I have begun to write a new love letter to myself, which I will post when I am done. How is yours coming?

I wanted to share the song and the lyrics with you, maybe it can offer you the same comfort it has offered me.

I am Light by India Arie

I am Light (x7)

I am not the things my family did
I am not the voices in my head
I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside

I am Light (x7)

I am not the mistakes I have made
or any of the things that caused me pain
I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind

I am Light

I am not the color of my eyes
I am not the skin on the outside
I am not the my age
I am not the my race
my soul inside

is all light

all light(x3)

I am Light (x7)

I am divinity defined
I am the god on the inside

I am a star
a piece of it all

I am Light

I am Light by India Arie

 

May you always know that you are light. You are nothing but light. Never believe anything else someone may say to you or you may even say to you. You are not the mistakes you have made, you are not your actions, you are not your family, your friends, you are not this body. You are light which is perfect and whole. That is all you are. So, let your light shine brightly.

Love Yourself

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

The past few months have been crazy busy. There have been amazing opportunities that have arisen and so many inspirational people that I have met. Each and every day I am reminded of what my purpose and mission is. And that is something I want to continue to share with the world.

Self-love is something that is essential to wholehearted living. Self-love is when you truly and passionately love yourself. You understand that decisions you have made, actions you have taken, or circumstances that have happened to you do not make up who you are. You have a divine light within you that shines brightly into the world and nothing you can do can put out that flame.

Love Letters to Yourself is a project I have started to teach and promote the importance of self-love worldwide. This project is becoming a movement. I hold workshops and seminars to teach women about self-love and how to write love letters to themselves. The symbol of this love letter is the commitment we have to ourselves. It is a visual trigger to remind ourselves why we are loved, why we are important, and why we are worthy of love and success.

Until you love yourself, you cannot truly love anyone else. And until you love yourself, no one’s love with ever be enough. Many people are taken back when I say. However, I want to share this example. Picture walking in the city of Chicago and there is a homeless person on the street asking for money. You left your purse in the car or only have a credit card on you. You have NO change and NO money.  You have nothing to give them. If someone comes over to your house and you just got back from a three week long vacation and have not had time to go grocery shopping, you have no food to feed them. No matter how much you want to feed your friends or give money to the homeless, you have nothing. This is the same with self-love. If we do not have self-love, or love for yourself, you have nothing to give. You cannot share this because the pantry of your heart is empty. No matter how much you want to give and receive love, until you have it within you, it cannot happen.

There is good news! This love is within you, waiting to be ignited and shared! Everything you need is within you. All the love, validation, adoration, and knowledge you long for has been and will always be within you. The question is how to access it. And that is where I come in.

Through my workshops, women are set free and reminded how to love themselves. People are inspired to create the life they have always imagined. I am not an expert. I am a young woman who has been sent on my journey to define what love means to me. Through my journey I found self-love. I have my personal experiences and stories to share with the world and the passion to fill the universe. My goal is to create a support network for women and people on their journey, so they know they are never alone.

Self-love seems like a simple idea, but when we ask ourselves what is self-love and what does it mean? Many people cannot find the words to formulate a definition. When people go searching for the definition, that is where the journey begins.

Self-love is important because it is the birthplace of creativity, success, and authentic relationships. Self-love, for me, is to be authentic with who you are, accept yourself for all of your sides, forgive yourself for decisions you have made, and build yourself up to live life unreasonably and go after your dreams. Until we love ourselves, we will never think we are worthy of success. We will never take risks to accomplish those desires our heart longs for. We will never have a true and deep relationship with another person because we do not have the courage to be vulnerable. Self-love is the foundation to life.

I am here to encourage you to write a love letter to yourself. Find that love you have been longing for within you. Stop looking externally for approval because the approval you have been waiting for is within you.

After writing your love letter, if you feel comfortable, I invite you to send it to me. I am compiling a book full of these love letters, publishing it, and using the profits to support women’s empowerment, send girls to school, and take this message worldwide. Who knows who your letter can help and the journey it may spark?

You are beautiful, strong, capable, worthy, full of potential, and enough. You do not need to conform, change, or sacrifice who you are to be loved. You are perfect.

I would love to hear what you think about this movement. This movement will be taken globally and is something to be shouted from the rooftops. Love yourself, and thereby transform the world.

Peace, Love, and Amity,

Jillie

Send love letters to: loveletterstoyourself@gmail.com