Sending Love thru Selfies

I am currently taking an e-course Be Your Own Beloved by Vivienne McMaster.  This is my third one since April that has been centered around exploring ways to love ourselves thru self-portraiture so I've been taking selfies on and off for several months now.  With practice, it is no longer a brand new and totally uncomfortable thing for me.  *Of course!,* when I'm having a difficult day it is harder.  But honestly?  Because I've been willing to stay with it, I now have some pictures of me in those spaces, too, that I am able to tenderly hold and welcome my vulnerability.  This learning to love myself in this new way has been a very real blessing and an unexpected one to boot! :)

One of this week's invitation/assignments was to take a photo of ourselves while sending love to ourselves.

I. *Loved.* it.!!

Over the years, I've come to really appreciate that the best photos of me are ones in which I am thinking about and/or in touch with the people and things that I love.  I know that whatever I'm feeling *will* show up on my face.  But it never occurred to me to send love to myself when I take a selfie!!  Grinning because now, of course!, it seems like such an obvious and natural thing.  :)

Right after reading Viv's email, I took a few pictures.  I didn't care for any of those and it wasn't because I didn't have any make-up on or hadn't combed my hair yet.  The pics just didn't feel "right" because of the expressions on my face, which I knew were honest reflections of the place I was in right then.  If I wanted this selfie to be *truly* about sending love to myself (and I did!) I knew that none of those were right and that I didn't have "it" . . . yet.

So I put my camera down and got ready for my day.  As I was getting dressed, I intentionally chose to wear a favorite top in one of my favorite colors.  I wanted to look nice for myself, just as I would if were meeting someone special (which I was!).  I wanted to show up and be there for myself.

About an hour later, as I was leaving for work, I picked up my camera and I tried again, taking lots of pictures.  As I was looking thru them, I came to the photo above and I knew it was was the one.  I'm happily smiling because I loved it so much that I ordered a copy that night and picked it up yesterday morning.

Now I can hold it in my hands, look at it, and send love to myself, whenever I want and/or need to...

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