Being Nice…

I am in the midst of a three week break from my yoga teacher training intensives. I feel like I am waking up from a long, restless sleep as I think about the awarenesses and patterns of thoughts I have engaged in for so long. The biggest one being the lack of acceptance for who I am or even knowing who I am for that matter. Lately, when these ingrained thoughts come about I am trying to step back and breathe. Rather than accepting them as gospel truth, I am asking one simple question: is that thought true? Sometimes I follow that question up with: what if the opposite of this thought is true? I am saying nice things to myself right now. When I talk to myself, I picture the little girl in the portrait on my dresser (me when I was three) and suddenly I just want to be kind and gentle to her. Is it any wonder that when I reach out to interact with someone from this place, I am suddenly kind and gentle with them too… Such a nicer way to treat myself and others…