When we talk about holistic health, it is important to take time to think about everything that make us human. In line with valentines day coming tomorrow, one of those things is relationships! We can eat all the greens in the world and exercise till kingdom come, but if we are alone with no-one to share love or be in community with, our health will most definitely be affected. Humans are social beings, even if we are introverted. We all need some level of social connection with those around us. When I was growing up, I always heard the phrase "no man is an island, no man stands alone." Essentially, people need people. We need people to love, we need people to love us, we need people to help us in our lives, we need people to share memories with, laugh with, dance with, cry with etc. Emotional connection is a necessity if we are going to thrive as humans. It affects our mental health and even our physical health. When we feel loved, wanted and protected we are energized, inspired and confident in our endeavors. Our mental health begins to thrive and our emotions are nurtured. Every aspect of our being is connected and so in order to really thrive, every area requires nourishment.
Love and relationships are not exclusive to romance. In fact we develop a variety of relationships as we move through life. Family, friendships, professional networks, romantic relationships and most importantly our relationship with God and ourselves.
With any connection, whether familial, platonic or romantic, comes trial and error. We are human after all, and this means we are not perfect. So, it's only normal that we'll hurt each other from time to time. This calls for us to exercise forgiveness, grace, love, effective communication and boundaries. In recent years cutting people off has become quite popular. I mean, if it is a relationship that is really hurting you, then you reserve the right to resolve it and move on. However, sometimes before we jump to cutting people off, let's pause and ask ourselves, "how can I communicate what I am feeling with this person?" Then you can both have a conversation, being open to each other's perspective and hopefully be able to come to an understanding and move forward. Unfortunately, sometimes it just doesn't work out and that is okay. Sometimes you don't even get closure and that is okay too.
Some relationships may require a bit more help than others and there are tools that can help us. There is counseling and therapy. It doesn't have to be when something grave happens. We can go to counseling with our loved ones simply to explore each other and equip ourselves to better relate and care for each other.
This brings me to my next point, our relationship with God and ourselves are two of the most important relationships in our lives. Spending time with God and ourselves will teach us about ourselves, how to relate to others and how to teach others to relate to us. If we don't know ourselves, we won't know what boundaries to implement in our relationships and we won't know how to confidently ask for what we need. You can explore your relationship with yourself through journaling, therapy and even paying attention to why you do things or react a certain way. Spending time in solitude is also helpful when learning about ourselves. I think the pandemic has made that painfully clear.
We are complex beings and so relationships will require a lot of patience as we learn about ourselves and the ones we love. When done right, all our relationships have the potential to nurture our souls, bring healing and joy to our lives. We all need love. So as we go into valentines day and everyday to follow, remember to show yourself love and show love to others.
Sending love to those who are feeling lonely.
Sending love to those who have lost important loved ones.
Sending love to those who are having difficulty in any of their relationships.
Sending love to those who are going through breakups (romantic/platonic).
Sending love to all of you.
Thank you for being here! Have a lovely valentines day. Be sure to shower love on yourself too! I love you <3
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