Bob Hope and Self Love

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of
it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”
–Bob Hope

A few weeks ago, my family visited San Diego and we went by the USO Monument at the US Midway. I
attempted to explain to my 8-year-old son why Bob Hope was important to American troops overseas. I
am not sure if he got it, but Bob Hope’s visits to US troop over the Christmas Holidays were legendary
because of how he made them feel while they were separated from their families: loved.

I have just spent 10 days in La Costa, California at The Chopra Center and I have an opportunity to
reflect. A great deal of my time was spent meditating, practicing yoga and journaling. One of the topics
was on self-love. Many of the participants in the women-only group, became very uncomfortable at the
topic. Tangible to-dos such as manicures and scheduling doctors appointments was not a problem.
However, writing down 10 things we are good at/proud of and telling another woman caused panic. In our
current culture, for a woman to be seen as selfish or arrogant, about our looks, personality or
accomplishments can be extremely unsettling.

The way we treat our body shows the world how we feel about ourselves. Do we listen to what we are
really hungry for knowing an emotional cannot be resolved with food? Or are feelings stuffed under a
blanket of junk food and soda giving us a problem we are happy to focus on instead of what is really
bothering us? Do we celebrate our body by moving, sleeping and connecting with it every day? Or do we
drive it into the ground with too much caffeine and not enough rest all while compulsively exercise even
while injured? These are not judgments just questions to ask yourself. Remember, these can always change
for the better.

Since Christmas is the best time of the year, according to Mariah Carey and the Hallmark movie people,
why can’t we carve out a little of the spirit for self-love?

What if every time you heard the word “Christmas” we thought of something we liked about ourselves?
When we saw anything online related to the Holidays, we became aware of our breath for a count of 3?
How about whenever we were faced with a challenging Holiday food situation, we decided to choose the
choice that would best fuel the person we want to be on January 2nd?

What if we worked on loving ourselves past January 2nd? Now that really would be a magical time.