“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth … It always protects, always trusts, always hopes.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

“What’s LOVE got to do with it?” sings Tina Turner …

LOVE is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection or a great interest and pleasure in something.

The definition implies that there is an object for this intense fondness.  Most of us will agree that we love our partner, our kids, our friends … but what about ourselves?

How many of us love ourselves enough to allow our thoughts, beliefs, and actions to shine and be heard, not only by those close to us, but also by those in our outer spheres of influence?

Do you have the courage to love yourself boldly? 

Or do you hide the most intimate thoughts and beliefs of your heart, mind and soul and only reveal them if its … safe?

After all, being the lone voice, the “round peg trying to get into the square hole”, can make life rather uncomfortable. 

What happens when we don’t live our life according to who we are and what we believe? 

We end up sacrificing ourselves - we adapt our principles, accommodate others, suffer from approval addiction and always need someone else to tell us we are okay or doing the right thing.  Having others tell us what is right relieves us of personal responsibility and lets us avoid the risk we take when we believe in ourselves.  We seek validation and answers from others possibly due to fear and feelings of guilt, shame, and low self-esteem. 

Consider what has been going on here in Canada … For 2 years we have been bombarded everywhere with propaganda and rhetoric daily from politicians and mainstream media.  Recently the Canadian government decided to slap a vaccine mandate on truckers who decided “enough is enough” and convoyed (is there such a verb? ;) ) their way from every direction to our capital.  They have been camped around the parliament buildings and have been joined by thousands of people from across the country (and abroad) to petition the federal and provincial governments to end mandates for vaccines and business and social restrictions.  People are tired and fed up – and now speaking and showing up to let others know what they think. 

Did they all just change their minds?

Or were most just keeping quiet because that was the safest and easiest way to survive?

Social media reports from people petitioning in Ottawa indicate that they have never experienced so much love … Canadians of all different cultural heritages, religious beliefs, and ages gathering to “fight” a common issue, together in a place where they feel secure enough to let their true thoughts, beliefs, and souls shine.  They talk about having hope, laughter and joy and “better nights of sleep than they’ve had in a long time.”

This “revolt” is occurring because enough people have become tired of living dyssynchronously with who they are and what they believe in.  Despite “towing the party line” for almost 2 years, they had enough and could no longer deny their truth.  They have become the dissenting voices against what has become the status quo. 

And because the truckers have taken a stand, thousands of other Canadians have felt safe enough to join with them. #strengthinnumbers 

Does any of this feel like we are reliving history?  Nazi propaganda was essential in promoting the myth of the “national community” and identifying who should be excluded. The teacher Jane Elliot’s social experiment demonstrated how easy it was to get 3^rd grade students berating each other based on eye colour.  And currently neighbour is turning against neighbour based upon vaccine status while government officials ridicule truckers and others for loving themselves boldly enough to stand up for what they believe in and share it with the world. It’s clear just how easy it is for marginalization, segregation, and racism to entrench us.

The thing is this.  Regardless of whether you agree with them or not, there is a lesson to learn from those dissenters.  They have loved themselves boldly enough to stand up for what they believe in and share not only with those close and safe, but with the world, regardless of consequences. They are not going to compromise themselves because living fully into their true authentic selves is more important than to live with who they become if they don’t.

Without dissenters our history would be very different.  Albert Einstein, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Marie Curie, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Christopher Columbus, Joan of Arc … Can you imagine what our world would have been like without these people boldly loving themselves?  Think about what would have happened without the dissenters who ran the underground railway and those who kept thousands of Jews as safe as possible during WWII. We would never have had the opportunity to meet Anne Frank and many others. Without dissenters there would be no change.  We would be a world of scared people giving into our fear and letting it control us.

So what’s LOVE got to do with it? 

Absolutely everything. 

If you’ve been denying and hiding your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, it’s time to love yourself.

It’s time to take back your power. 

Reclaim your power by spending time with yourself, looking inward to get the answers for what you need and want. Don’t just take someone’s word for it; stop and question what you’ve just heard or seen and take time to investigate whether its something worth adopting or changing for.

Remain true to who you are.  Love yourself boldly, even if means being the lone voice in the wilderness.  Sometimes it means losing your reputation or your job or being told you’re crazy.  And if that were to happen, let me reassure you that you likely would not be alone.  It just may mean that there is another tribe out there ready to welcome you warmly.   

Let yourself shine! You are beautiful, strong and unique. 

Sending you and those you love and care for positive healthy energy, joy and love!

 - Lisa xo

 P.S. If you’ve felt that your relationship with yourself and others have degraded in quality, connection, and joy and you’re up for making change, reply and let me know.  I’m also here to help.