Ahhh….love is in the air this week.
I realize that not everyone loves Valentine’s Day as much as I do. It has been criticized as a consumerism holiday created to get us to spend money on flowers, cards, candy and more. Single women may feel like the holiday is conspiring against them.
Much like Thanksgiving reminds me to be grateful and count my blessings, Valentine’s Day reminds me to be more loving to everyone…including myself.
Of course, I want to be grateful and loving each and every day of my life…but these special days serve as a gentle nudge to consider where and how I can be even more so.
So, while I am planning a special dinner for my husband on Valentine’s Day (shhh…don’t tell him, but I am making the turkey lasagna he has been asking for since before Christmas!), and we will be watching one of my favorite romantic movies (Out of Africa)… I am also spending the month practicing being more loving towards myself.
I find that I am the hardest on myself.
Yesterday something happened that brought up all sorts of feelings of “I am not enough, I didn’t do enough” and my knee-jerk reaction was to inwardly criticize myself, to judge myself, and to immediately seek ways to prove my worth outwardly. Because I am focusing on practicing loving self-kindness this month, I realized that I was headed down the slippery slope to nowhere.
I took a deep breath and a shower (because that always helps) and began telling myself that I am enough…that I do enough…that if anyone feels differently I can’t control them or their thoughts towards me. I can only control my own thoughts and feelings.
I reminded myself that my intention in the triggering situation was well-intended. I kept breathing and talking to myself much like I would a small child who was hurting. I went to bed feeling a bit better and when I woke up this morning…I reminded myself that I am enough. I’ll keep reminding myself until the feeling that I’m not dissipates. And, of course it will.
In the meantime, I am grateful for Valentine’s Day and the reminder to keep reaching towards being more loving to others, to our beautiful planet, and to myself.
I created a lovely little Chocolate Cherry No Bake Cookie for you to enjoy this week. I LOVED these cookies growing up as a child, but the original recipe contains ingredients that don’t feel so loving in my body. So here is my much healthier version that tastes exactly like I remember AND includes dried cherries in honor of Valentine’s Day.
I hope you enjoy them!
Chocolate-Cherry No Bake Cookies
¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup grade B pure maple syrup or honey
½ cup sunflower seed butter (or your favorite nut butter)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup unsweetened dried cherries, chopped
1 ¼ cup whole oats
Steps:
- Gently heat coconut oil, maple syrup and sunflower seed butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat.
- Measure in cocoa powder, stirring until smooth.
- Add in remaining ingredients, mix until well combined.
- Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm. Refrigerated cookies will keep for 5-7 days.
Yield: 20 cookies.
You are welcome to share this recipe with friends and family, but please do so by linking to and citing TheConsciousHealthCoach.com as its source. Thank you and have a great Valentine’s Day!
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