5 Ways To Love Yourself MORE

Yep, there I am, jumping on the trampoline in my sisters yard yesterday. As I told a friend, you can't help but smile on a trampoline. I couldn't jump and be angry, or feel sad at the same time. 

Alhamdulilah I felt like reaching for the sky, free, and alive. I haven't felt that way since my husband passed away last month (December 20th, 2016). Life has not been the same. Yesterday I decided to get some fresh air and I felt good. It was nice to step outside for a little bit.

My last post was written on loving your husband's more, which can also be applied to wives. Our time here isn't long, and in losing my husband, I am extra reminded to encourage wives to love their husbands more. That has always been part of my blog's goal, but God is telling me to remind women more, through my own experience.

But in loving your husbands more, do not forget yourself. You are important. Yes, some women need to be reminded that they are important. You have to take care of yourself/ On my journey to healing, I am learning that in order for me to heal, I have to continue to nurture every area of my being. I am a whole person, so I have to focus on everything, my spiritual health, emotional health, physical and mental. I cannot neglect any area. Especially nowadays. 

I can share a few things that is helping me currently in my life. Your list may look different, and that is okay! As long as you have a list of things you can do today to truly love yourself more. If you feel inspired from my 5, inshaAllah, take a moment and write down your five or more and work on doing that daily. 

I know in the hustle and bustle of daily parenting, it is not always easy to slide in your absolute no children ways of enjoying yourself, but we must do what we can and be realistic in what we CAN do. Yes many of us would love an all expense paid weekend vacation to recharge ourselves, give ourselves a little TLC (tender, loving, care) but realistically many of us cannot do that. 

Here are some ways I have been loving myself more

1.) Keep praying- yep, because my connection to God is very important and He cares for me, He takes care of me and my family. Divine counsel is the best kind of counsel. So when I am crying my eyes out, or need some help in getting through the day, God is The One who will pull me through and show me the way to go. I show love for myself by keeping my spiritual health strong. It is so easy to fall into despair and negative feelings, but if you keep reminding yourself to trust God, His wisdom, and His guidance then inshaAllah you will have a lot more peace in your life. I do not understand His ways all the time, I ask Him to help me accept it, because there is a reason, beyond what I know. Love yourself, by relying on The One who loves you and wants the best for you. Loving yourself, is also loving your soul. 

Loving your soul, --Love The One who created it and can give your heart ease. Your connection to Him is the most important connection for your well being.

2.) Enjoy nature- If that means, sitting outside in the backyard, going for a walk, or taking the children to the park while you sit and enjoy the view. Go outside. I came to visit my sister and stayed in the house the whole time, I was forced to go out yesterday to run some important errands, and while I was out there it was nice to feel the sun on me, and I even decided to walk back to my sisters house, it was a 30 minute walk with the children and we had such a good time. The fresh air felt amazing and it started to get cloudy, and I said subhanAllah how beautiful it is today! Even in our busy day, we can fit in a walk, or sitting on our porch as the children play. Go outside, breathe in the air and relax for a moment.

3.) Write- Start a journal, whether it be a gratitude based, poetry, or just reflection type of journal, start one. I decided to get back into writing poetry again. The point is to have a creative outlet, a place to express your thoughts, your feelings, and your goals. Write about your accomplishments and give yourself some love by acknowledging when you are doing well, your attempts and efforts. Your emotional health is important. Having a blog is a great outlet for me, to share my thoughts and what I have learned in my life. Alhamdulilah it is a extra blessing when others can benefit.

4.) Speak words of love --one of my friends encouraged me a couple months ago to look in the mirror and say positive affirmations about myself. Do the same. Wake up each morning and say something nice about yourself. Be your own cheerleader and tell yourself that you are happy about your accomplishments, Say what you like, love about yourself. It can be as simple as "Alhamdulilah Ameera, you are amazing" my aunt in law (may Allah have mercy on her ameen) would tell me when she saw me "Here comes my amazing ameera." I would smile, she truly knew how to make someone feel good themselves, but we cannot always wait for others to validate us, we should love ourselves more and say good words about yourself, to yourself and never allow others to do the opposite.

5.) Exercise & Eat right- You have one body, love yourself and take care of yourself by nurturing that body that Allah has blessed you with. You do not need a gym membership to get going. Start by walking the neighborhood, use workout videos, and if you're extra blessed to have a trampoline, please go use it! Eat foods that will be a benefit to your body and not harm it. This not only takes care of your physical well being, but it is also good for your mind, It is good for your family.

May God continue to bless you all, I understand that motherhood, and being a wife, can feel at times a bit overwhelming and takes a lot of energy. Remember that God will reward you for all your loving work, just remember Him often, and take time to love yourself daily. Love yourself more, by not negatively comparing yourself to other mothers. We all have our moments, all have our test, we are all on this journey and we are all striving to get closer to God, on this journey our test may be different, we are all tested in many ways. InshaAllah let us support each other more and stop beating ourselves up, because we are negatively comparing ourselves to the other mother. Trust me, the other mother is not without her own test. Pray for each other, not prey on each other.