It All Begins at Home

I have been writing in journals all my life. From the moment I could string words together, using different colours of crayon for each letter of each word, I kept little personal diaries of thoughts and reflections. As someone who has always leaned toward the introverted, journals are the place where my voice has always found a haven. In a journal, I am free.

@mariagiulianidotca

“You cant give from an empty cup” Giving to ourselves and taking care of our needs make us better contributors to the world at large, not worse. It’s the good kind of selfish 😀. #selfcare #selflove #writing #writingprompts #journalwithme #journal #book #selfishlove #fillyourcup #takingcareofme #selfcaremom #selfcaremomma #personaldevelopment #personalgrowth #personalgrowthjourney Intro to my journal of writing prompts available on etsy.com/ca/shop/ShopMariaGiuliani

♬ original sound – Journal Prompts for Self-Care

I have also always been fascinated by personal and spiritual development. The books on my bedside table are piled high with works by thinkers and feelers, all offering their timeless perspectives on how to go within and find alignment; books offering hope and asking for faith that when we find our personal truths, our lives will change.

The concept of self-love became important to me in my 20s, when I realized that I was lacking love in other areas of my life. The concept of self-care became necessary in my 30s, after putting so much of myself into motherhood that I forgot how to care for myself. As a mother cares for her child out of love, so must we all care for ourselves out of love. It’s the often-heard analogy—so apt that I will continue to repeat it—that we “can’t give from an empty cup.” This is at the heart and soul of why I’ve created this journal.

We are social beings. We are meant to exist within a world of others, and we gain great benefit from contributing to this world (to our society) in a positive way. When we give love, we receive love. Yet, we can’t give love unless we have love to give. We can’t give from an empty cup.

Until our personal cups are filled, we may feel resentment, contempt, fear, and lack. It is once our personal cups are filled that we can turn the tides outward. Love begets love, so as our cups begin to flow over, it’s the overflow that we share with the world. As long as our cup remains full, the overflow will keep on flowing.

So, it all begins at home. The first step to being a service-minded contributor in society is to make sure we have love to share. That is our job. Our cup, our responsibility. It stands, therefore, that loving ourselves first is not a selfish act, but a necessary one.

*The above is an excerpt from my interactive journal “My Self-Love Story“
https://linktr.ee/mariagiulianidotca