"Feeling happiness is temporary, feeling whole is permanent."

Loving the people around us often comes more naturally than loving oneself.

As humans, we each occasionally, if not often, find ourselves struggling with the concept of self-love. However, self-love is the most crucial form of love because it is, in fact, the source from which love for others flows. One can only love as deeply as they love themselves. That being said, we have found that self-love is oftentimes confused with self-care. Both are essential, yet not at all the same. That is why Carefree Adventures is elated to invite everyone to our Self Care vs. Self Love workshop. Together, we will dive deep into what it means to genuinely cultivate love for oneself, as well as establish self-care strategies to aid that process. We will differentiate the two concepts and demonstrate activities that can support your daily self-care strategies. Ultimately, this workshop will further each individual towards obtaining the self-love that we all deserve!

Perhaps you have found yourself in a place of despair and confused about why you seem unable to receive love from others. Maybe your inner critic or that mean voice in your head has gotten too loud. Maybe you struggle with maintaining a sense of love for yourself. Or maybe it is possible that you are full of self love but simply desire to learn how to cultivate even more! Whichever scenario, this is the workshop for you!

A few years back, I found myself struggling with self esteem, acceptance, and shame. My inner critic had gotten so loud and mean that anything good I had come to know about myself was drowned out by that rotten voice in my head reminding me how I was not ‘good enough.’ My personal relationships of all kinds were greatly affected by this mentality, as was my perception on life and overall morale. I was allowing people to treat me poorly, speak to me disrespectfully, and had lost the inclination to stand up for myself.

One day after a less than enjoyable encounter where I had listened to someone who claimed to love me, absolutely verbally degrade me, I had a realization.

How could I expect them to speak to me differently when that is how I speak to myself?

Why should they offer me respect, when I so clearly had none of my own?

And lastly, what could possibly make me think they would love me truly, unconditionally if I had no clue how to cultivate that type of love internally?!

So I sat down with a journal and a pen and I wrote the question, “What is self love?”

I sat and contemplated. All kinds of thoughts started bombarding me.

“I do yoga, eat healthy, pay attention to what I consume overall, get out in nature, treat myself on occasion, etc. What else could I possibly do in the way of self love?”

Then it dawned on me...

I was confusing self-care with self-love. Not the same, not even a little. Sure, they go hand in hand. However, the notion of simply caring for oneself and the concept of truly, deeply loving oneself is completely different.

Okay, so now the problem was identified. I could care for myself all day long, but where, how, what could I possibly do to cultivate love internally??

Unable to answer that question on my own, I began asking friends. The answers I received were nothing short of beautiful. Some said that they look around at all the people they care about and think about how highly they regard them. Then they flip the narrative, observing how amazing they must be themselves if so many incredible people care for them individually. Others said they fill themselves up with love by doing what they are passionate about. Then others answered, “I don’t know.” (Hence, we know there is a place for this workshop in the world.)

Even though I found most of those answers, they just did not seal the deal for me. So I embarked on my own personal journey, physically, mentally, and emotionally, to find out what self love is for me.

While this journey was a long, wild ride, I have three points to sum it up. For me, personally, I discovered that my three keys to truly cultivating self love were authenticity, accepting all parts of myself (light and dark), and being in nature.

My three keys to self love have changed my life insurmountably. In discovering my recipe for self love, I was able to grow, learn, and most importantly maintain love. That being said, my keys may not be the same as yours. No one's recipe for self love looks exactly the same. That is why our workshop will offer so many nourishing techniques to discover your recipe. We will establish habits and affirmations to aid your exploration with this concept, such as mirror work, tactics for creating healthy boundaries, and finding balance in your life. Then we will differentiate self care and engage in fun and useful activities that you can use in your day to day life going forward such as self massage, face yoga, journal prompts, and so much more!

Expect yoga, meditation, discussion, and to simply pamper yourself in this one-of-a-kind experience!