Where to Begin?

"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge."

- Khalil Gibran


Where exactly does this journey begin? How do I motivate myself to do what's best for me when negative attitudes and patterns of behavior are so deeply ingrained? How do I change thought patterns and habits that have been entrenched for decades? What is the magical first step that will ensure a second step, and a third, and so on and so on - all of them moving me further along the path toward my desired goal?

The answer is: I don't know. If I knew the answer, I'd probably be fabulously wealthy and living the life of Riley off the proceeds of my best-selling self-help book. Or at least living a life fully at peace with myself. But since I don't know and have to start somewhere, I've decided that my first step will be a commitment to at least one act of self love every day. It doesn't have to be the same thing every day - just a minimum of one intentional, loving act directed towards myself.

What qualifies as self love? A bowl of ice cream at the end of a hard day feels like self love, but is actually the opposite (at least for very overweight me). And since, like everyone else, we're strapped for cash, the typical self-pampering activities like massages, hairdos, mani/pedis and shopping sprees are out of the running. Besides, I don't think any of those things address the heart of the problem. Like the band-aids my seven-year-old wants me to put on her invisible-but-still-hurting scrapes. They make her feel better, but don't actually do anything to heal the hurt.

So I sat down and made a list of things I can do to improve my quality of life that cost only two things - which, some would argue, are the most costly of all commodities: time and effort. Here's my list so far:

1) spend at least 10 minutes of devotion/meditation time in the morning just after rising
2) do at least 10 minutes of yoga or walking or some other kind of low-impact exercise
3) drink at least 6 large glasses of water in one day
4) read at least one chapter of an inspirational/motivational book or blog
5) spend quality time talking/sharing with a close friend
6) ask for something I need from someone I love
7) prepare/purchase a healthy meal, eating slowly and stopping when I feel full
8) take at least 10 minutes to contemplate/enjoy/create something beautiful
9) spend at least 10 minutes organizing/planning/cleaning something that will directly benefit me
10) spend at least 10 minutes thinking and/or writing about my journey

Please share any insights/ideas/suggestions you may have that I could add to this list, dear readers - and thank you for being here and sharing in my journey!