My chintz hot pants!

Back in the day, special shorts were known as "hot pants" - they were fancier in some way. Boy, am I dating myself now! Last weekend while attending the NLP (neurolinguistic programming) conference, I had reflections on areas that I had still not resolved over the years, despite numerous attempts of reconciling these issues. I've prayed, done therapy, meditated - you name it - but as I also share with clients on mostly a daily basis, it is like peeling an onion - each time the issue is revisited, a new and potentially profound meaning is learned. In other words, another layer has been peeled away for healing. One great lesson for me is being able to have abundance in my life. I was raised an only child and my parents did not want me to be spoiled, as well as they grew up during the Great Depression. Well, for me, that was a double whammy - oh let's also add the catholic guilt of do for others but not for yourself. Of course, this was taken out of context and as I now reflect back on christian teachings, it is also stated to love yourself in order to love others. The short and sweet is that for me, I was taught that it was unacceptable to ask for things as well as to have abundance. My Mom was an amazing seamstress and she made most of my clothing, but I also recall that there were times when she could not buy fabric - money was tight much of the time and there was a lot of creativity put into making things. One summer, my Mom made me shorts (these cool "hot pants")out of curtain material and this material was chintz, a shiny, cotton blend. Of course, it was very creative, but I remember feeling a bit embarrassed at wearing my household curtains! I also yearned for the fancy clothes that everyone else was wearing. I now know that it is okay and in fact, good, to occasionally splurge on oneself in order to keep balance in life. It is an expression of self-love and is a creative outlet! How will you treat yourself this week?