Happy February!

A few years ago, I developed a method to treat insomnia and occupy my mind in the middle of the night just long enough to drift back to sleep. What has this got to do with love? Stay with me.

So I call this sleep aid I invented, The ABCs of Gratitude. I start with A and work my way to Z with all the elements of my life for which I’m grateful.
A: I’m grateful for avocados (I love them!)
B: I’m grateful for beautiful babies
C: I’m grateful for creative genius…you see how it works?
The ABCs of gratitude are an excellent way to relax the mind and body. They are also a terrific mindfulness technique, because they require focus to make it all the way through without getting distracted and dropping down a rabbit hole.

This year, I created the ABCs of Empowerment. These gems go like this:
A: I AM agile
B: I AM brave
C: I AM supremely creative…and so on.
Well, I got to H and said, “I AM happy.” This made me stop and ask myself: am I happy? Rather than question, I simply declared it. And you know what? I immediately found something to be happy about. Brilliant. Ha!

We’ve been trained by our culture to think about romantic love in February, to think of loving the Other. As we begin a month of love obsession, of chocolate, flowers, and string quartets, I encourage you to schedule some time for self-care. Don’t just think about it, write it in your calendar. Make a date with yourself. Get a massage, buy a hat, book a weekend at the lake. Take some time for self-care and you will shine a little brighter for the ones you love. To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi: be the love you wish to see in the world.

Happy February, beautiful people!

Best always,
Cynthia
PS: If loving yourself includes writing the book you’ve always dreamed of writing, drop me a line at coachcynthia.gregory@gmail.com