Being Kind to Yourself
"The only way to rescue our dreams is by being generous with ourselves. Any attempt to inflict self-punishment - no matter how subtle it may be - should be dealt with rigorously."
He then talks about turning spiritual pain into physical pain to deal with this (he suggests everytime you have a self-degrading thought, you dig your nail into the nail bed of your thumb; not sure how I feel about this!). Although I'm not convinced this does or doesn't work. I think it brings up a good point that really resonates with me. I have to live myself. Later in the book there is a prayer for all those that should be pitied. One of these groups is those of us who inflict pain of judgment upon ourselves. Realizing that God has counted every hair on our heads and knew us (and loved us) before we were formed makes this practice of self-hatred a task in ridiculousosity (for lack of a better word). If the Lord created us in his image and loves every part of us (even that darned curly part of my hair that never straightens and my messed up legs), then who am I to hate these things?
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