As I touched down in Denver last night after a 22 hour travel day home from the mountains of Switzerland, the girl sitting next to me showed me her phone, which had a photo of Whitney Houston on it, and told me that she had died.
Dang. R.I.P. Whitney.
I have always been in love with Whitney. Some of my first memories of being deeply touched by music involve turning up “Greatest Love of All” or “How Will I Know” as loud as I could and singing my heart out. Sometimes crying (yes, even when I was a wee lass..), always feeling and most of the time dancing.
I’m pretty proud to say that my love for her and her music has barely ceased 20 something years later and that Whitney has and always will have a pretty regular appearance in my speakers (and heart).
Anyhoo, lately, I’ve rekindled my adoration for “The Greatest Love of All”, listening to it at least once/day after being reintroduced to it by a friend a couple months ago.
It’s strange how some things touch you at certain points in your life more than others, like this song has for me, recently. I think the more we become aware of these seemingly random interjections, the more we can learn from them.
For example, one of the messages that stands out for me in this song is that “Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all”.
Throughout the song she talks about the importance of people in our lives to look up to, to support us, and also, that no matter how much of this we have, it’s nothing unless we love ourselves. The source of all love – for a parent, a partner, a lover, a dog, a friend and for your self comes from one place. You.
This message has been showing up everywhere in my life lately and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m taking some big, scary steps personally, and professionally, and that I need constant reminder of this.
To me, loving yourself means nourishing your body – physically, mentally and spiritually with things and spaces that make you feel good. Eating fresh food, moving your body, laughing with friends, breathing fresh air and sunshine, scaring yourself, sitting in silence and expressing. To name a few.
Even if you’re doing these things everyday already, try paying attention to how they make you feel – appreciate this, and set intentions for feeling that way more often.
And maybe put some Whitney in (I wanna dance with somebody) – stop thinking, start dancing. Talk about loving yourself.
theharpandthesword 