(no subject)

On a good day, when my heart was filled with love, and my head was clear (i.e.: undepressed):

I think that, if a child gave me a scribbled drawing, saying "I made this for you", it would be a beautiful picture.

I think that if a child tried to clean up a mess, even it was a bigger mess afterwards, it'd touch my heart deeply.

I think that if a child sang me an off-key, nonsense song, it'd bring a huge smile to my face, and I'd say that the child sang beautifully.

I was reading a Live Journal entry, and a thought came to me.

If you love yourself, as dearly as you might love a child who earnestly and happily tries to be nice to you, you should accept your limitations and faults, as easily as you'd accept the limitations and faults of that child.

And, as angry as you'd be at a nasty critic who'd hurt the feelings of children who are doing their best, I think you should be that angry at the internal critics who'd do the same thing to you.

So if you wanted to sing a song, for yourself, and stopped, embarrassed at how terrible you'd sound - even if no one was listening - maybe it's time to turn a sharp eye at the voice that told you not to sing. Maybe it's time to say "don't you *dare*! I don't care if it's the worst singing of the worst song in the world; you have no business hurting that person's feelings! *I* wanted to hear that song, sung out of sheer happiness, and a desire to make *me* happy as well!"

It's not just singing, of course... there's a lot in life where folks end up not giving themselves the same break that they'd give to someone else they loved, who they believed was doing their best.

I hope, the next time I hear the self-critic starting up, I'll be as ready to protect myself from unwarranted nastiness as I would be ready to protect another. I hope the same holds for everyone who reads this, who has their own nasty self-critic.

(no subject)

On a good day, when my heart was filled with love, and my head was clear (i.e.: undepressed):

I think that, if a child gave me a scribbled drawing, saying "I made this for you", it would be a beautiful picture.

I think that if a child tried to clean up a mess, even it was a bigger mess afterwards, it'd touch my heart deeply.

I think that if a child sang me an off-key, nonsense song, it'd bring a huge smile to my face, and I'd say that the child sang beautifully.

I was reading a Live Journal entry, and a thought came to me.

If you love yourself, as dearly as you might love a child who earnestly and happily tries to be nice to you, you should accept your limitations and faults, as easily as you'd accept the limitations and faults of that child.

And, as angry as you'd be at a nasty critic who'd hurt the feelings of children who are doing their best, I think you should be that angry at the internal critics who'd do the same thing to you.

So if you wanted to sing a song, for yourself, and stopped, embarrassed at how terrible you'd sound - even if no one was listening - maybe it's time to turn a sharp eye at the voice that told you not to sing. Maybe it's time to say "don't you *dare*! I don't care if it's the worst singing of the worst song in the world; you have no business hurting that person's feelings! *I* wanted to hear that song, sung out of sheer happiness, and a desire to make *me* happy as well!"

It's not just singing, of course... there's a lot in life where folks end up not giving themselves the same break that they'd give to someone else they loved, who they believed was doing their best.

I hope, the next time I hear the self-critic starting up, I'll be as ready to protect myself from unwarranted nastiness as I would be ready to protect another. I hope the same holds for everyone who reads this, who has their own nasty self-critic.