Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life. Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.

On Sunday I spoke at a Unity Church, which now meets over Zoom, and they recorded it it so I just transcribed it to share a more condensed and cohesive version of my talk with you. Shortly after January 1st I posted the question online, what if you simply devoted this year to loving

yourself more? I was quickly saddened by the overwhelming response from people

saying they wouldn't even know where to start.

Saying things like, that would be difficult.

I can't even imagine.

Easier said than done, or how do I do that?

It reminded me of when I didn't feel worthy of love, let alone knew how self-love would even look like.

I know it's different from self-centeredness, which is egotistical and selfish.

So whenever I try to better understand a concept, I think of its

opposite and the distinction becomes crystal clear. The opposite of self-care is not selflessness,

it's self-neglect.

Many of us are conditioned to go above and beyond for other people, clean the house before

having company over, and be considerate of other people's time.

These are all wonderful qualities, but make sure your own name is on that list of people

worthy of your best.

We are so quick to say things like, it's just me, and the word just implies we're unimportant and insignificant.

I'm not talking about boasting, His Royal Highness is here when you enter a room.

I'm talking about self-care. We care for those we love by default. So to answer the question,

what does self-love look like? Here are a few suggestions. There's a restaurant in Seattle with the slogan,

Eat like you give a damn. It's funny and cute at first, but think about it a little more.

Eat like you care, in words begs the question care about

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