Loving Yourself

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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I begin to realize that in inquiring about my own origin and goal, I am inquiring about something other than myself. In this very realization, I begin to recognize the origin and goal of the world.”

– Martin Buber

What does it mean to be selfish?

I have always be taught to share. I have always been taught to play nice. I have always been taught to be gracious. I have always been taught it is better to give than to receive. I don’t think those are bad things, really. I have always felt there is an element of gratitude, kindness, and love undergirding each of those actions. I like the idea that there is a universal flow that we participate in when we give. I like the idea that in giving we truly receive. Where does being selfish sit within this picture of absolute connection, abundance, and love? The notion of being selfish is a judgement call that is not useful. It is not selfish to be honest with ourselves and others. It is not selfish to fill our cup so there is water to drink. It is not selfish to ask for what we need or stand for our beliefs. A true relationship between ourselves and others demands that we be selfish to the extent that selfishness is honest, courageous, and vulnerable participation in our interconnected world.

Like feeding a small bird.

In the daily passage linked to below, Mark Nepo poetically describes self love as feeding a clear small bird. The picture he paints is one in which the bird is clear and one only he can see. He feeds the bird his most painful secrets and the bird begins to shine in the glow of the secrets that have been gently fed. Secrets shed become a thing of beauty and light inside the bird. He even suggests that people that love us can see our glowing birds filled with our secrets and still love us. I love the idea self love means laying down our secrets. I love the idea that our secrets can be laid down.

A practice is a prayer for the world.

One of my favorite yoga teachers a few years ago taught me that our yoga practice was our prayer to the world. Our prayer for peace. Our prayer for compassion. Our prayer for love. Every time we came to our mat she would remind us. That teaching still resonates with me. A practice, whether it is moving through asanas on a yoga mat, eating family meals, running outdoors, knitting a scarf, or serving others is a prayer for the world. Practices grow out of deep self love. Practices grow out of soft hearts. Practice is how we learn to love ourselves and our world.