The Honeybee's Lifestyle

Tag: memphis blogger

  • Greatest Love Of All

    Hello Honeybees,

    The month of February is usually focused on love and most of us automatically think of love in a romantic sense. Which is only natural but there is one love that must be achieved before any other kind of love can reach its full potential.

    That love is SELF LOVE.

     

    Loving yourself sounds like a no brainer but for some people it is not an easy task. If you have never been encouraged to love yourself or if you’ve never had people show you love just because you exist or because you are important to them, then it’s hard to understand self-love.

    Loving yourself means not accepting less than you deserve in any situation or relationship. It means saying no to things and people that don’t have your best interest at heart.

    Loving yourself first and foremost is the ultimate meaning of self-love. Putting yourself first is not being selfish it’s one of the highest forms of self-love.

    Here are a few steps to help you practice a little or hopefully a lot of self-love:

    Focus on being someone who loves! When you give love or show love it comes back to you. You attract what you put out.

    Act on what you need rather than what you want! Turn away from things that get you in trouble or keep you stuck in the past. That includes people & things. Make sure your needs are met before your wants.

    Practice good self-care! Take care of your temple. When you put in the work you feel better about you.

    Challenge negative thoughts about yourself! – You are not perfect but guess what, no one is. Try not to entertain or internalize negative thoughts. Easier said than done. When negative thoughts come, push them out with something positive.

    Set boundaries & Protect yourself! – This includes people and activities. But also make sure you are bringing the right people into your life.

    Forgive yourself! – Don’t carry the guilt of the past. You learned the lesson, take heed and move on Martha, move on!

    Live intentionally! – Live life with purpose and feel good about that purpose.

    I hope that we all practice self-love EVERYDAY! How do you practice self-love?

     

    Beewisdom- “Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with ‘self.’ You can’t find them in anyone else.” ~Unknown

  • My Favorite Valentine’s Day Memory

    Hello Honeybees,

    Happy Valentine’s Day!

    Valentine’s Day can hold some happy memories and for some people some not so good memories. For me I’m in the middle. I have experienced both the good and the not so good. I can take all the dark chocolate that you can give me, or a cupcake or a single flower. But I don’t need all the pomp and circumstance. Don’t get me wrong I truly believe in love and I love, love. I am always happy to see people in love. Seeing people in love makes my heart happy. I’m sure there will be plenty of proposals taking place today and plenty of babies born in November.

    Some people love the big splash on Vday, you know the one where there are enough balloons to float away, or enough flowers to open a flower shop or the stuffed animal that’s bigger than a small child. When I was younger I enjoyed the love day splash but as I matured I started to love the smaller more intimate gestures.

    My favorite valentine’s day memory involved only two people. Me & Him. Because he knew that I wasn’t big on big displays he prepared an intimate candle light dinner for two. All I had to do was dress up and show up. No restaurant, no waiting, no crowds. He did all the work, prepared all the food, set the table, and had my favorite flower. This was my first candle light dinner experience. It was filled with love, authenticity and appreciation. The fact that someone took the time to make me happy was as special as it gets. Even though the relationship didn’t last, I will always have this memory of what a real, to me, valentine’s day looks and feels like.

    I don’t think that Valentine’s day should make or break the relationship, it should only enhance the relationship. It should be one of the many special days that you celebrate the love that you share in a special way.

    I hope that today you create some beautiful memories of love.   What’s your favorite Valentine’s memory?

     

    Beewisdom- Where there is love, there is life

  • Be. Here. Now.

    Hello Honeybees,

    I live what I think is an active social media life. I document places, life and events to share with you all on the interweb. But sometimes I like to just enjoy the moment. Sometimes I don’t want to share the person or the experience. Sometimes I just want to be in that moment.

    I heard the phrase “Be. Here. Now.” during a staff training. We talked about actually listening & being there for teammates. But also how to apply it to our personal lives. If you have teenagers then you already know that communicating with them can sometimes be a struggle, especially if they are boys.

    Mom: how was your day
    Son: ok
    Mom: everything going ok with you
    Son: yes
    Mom: do anything interesting today
    Son: no

    I have heard that girls are different.

    Trying to parent more than one child has been very interesting. Two humans with the same DNA, who grew up together in the same environment but are so totally different. Because their personalities are so different I have to engage them differently. I have to Be Here Now in different ways.

    The morning of the training I asked my son to take his clothes out of the dryer before he left for school. I could tell by his reaction that something was off but I didn’t stop to see what it was because I was so focused on the clothes in the dryer & getting out the door on time. That evening he started talking about something that happened at school & I immediately stopped was I doing to Be Here Now for him. No phone, no laptop, no distractions. What I learned from that talk was when I asked him about the clothes he felt that I was yelling & angry at 6:18 am. I didn’t feel like I was yelling or angry but he did. So we both started the day on a sour note.  All of this could have been avoided if I had just been present in the moment and acknowledged his reaction to the conversation.

    I am committed to Be Here Now for my sons because I won’t have them with me always. I want to cherish the time that we have before my nest is empty. I am committed to Be Here Now for my friends because our friendships are important to me. Having the much needed girl gatherings. Catching up over drinks. Stopping to actually have that phone conversation.  Most importantly I am committed to Be Here Now for ME. Saying NO and meaning it. When my body tells me to slow down, I listen and will slow down. Why? Because I am worth it and you can’t pour from an empty cup.

     

    Beewisdom- Wherever you are, be all there