Self-Love on Valentine's Day: How to Care For You

Since the beginning of time, people have been in high pursuit of pleasure. What pleasure means to any one of us, is of course, personal. Valentine’s day has been on the books since the 14th century, but it became popularized around the 1840s in the UK and US and has spread to be a global event. 

What is your aphrodisiac?

From Hallmark cards to special alcohol concoctions to recreational and prescription drugs, we are in a high-speed chase to pleasure-vile. Inundated with commercials about just the right potion, with just the right drug and with just the right path to take, I ask you to consider: SELF-LOVE! 

It is a complicated subject matter for many of us. We come to this world hard-wired, influenced by people who raised us, educated us, and were our friends and enemies alike. We have taken on experiences and accumulated knowledge to find our North Star. SELF-LOVE is the North Star and it comes from within no matter the other influences of negative thought or guilt on this subject matter. Self-love sets us free to choose how we celebrate Valentine’s day. What road do we pick to get to the pleasure vile?

The Power of Now

It has been proven by many brilliant scholars and researchers that our brain, specifically the amygdala is where the emotional journey starts and ends. Self-love comes from self-awareness, yet most of us go through our days without much thought to being present in the moment. One of my beloved books, which I refer to almost every day, is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It is my life’s manual; it has been my guide on the path of self-awareness and self-love. I seek out its comfort when I am struggling. I bask in its strength when I feel doubt and remind myself of my North Star. But it has not always been like this for me.

In recent years, the correlation between your brain and your gut has become evident and proven many times over. Yes, the amygdala is driving our emotions but it's not alone. According to Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health Publishing in the article “The gut-brain connection” in April of 2021, the relationship between the two organs is undeniably real. Our stomach is sensitive to emotions. I would further argue that one cannot reach that pleasant-vile destination without a healthy gut at all, no matter the potions. 

Gut Healing Journey

I have personally struggled for decades with gut issues. Unable to find any rhyme or reason for stomach upsets, my emotions fluctuated just as erratically. I started my journey to self-healing at doctor's offices but found my North Star, self-love, in many places I did not expect. In the books, in the pod-casts by renowned and respected authorities on healing, on the yoga mat and finally, in my kitchen! 

Food heals! It's that simple. No magic potion, no secret ingredient from the obscure bush, no drug. It's just us! Simple and complicated all the same. My favorite food is soup. I have been making soups for decades for myself, my family, and my friends. In my search for optimal health, I discovered my path to North Star is the creative process of working with local and regional farmers to source the ingredients, research and develop new flavors, to make sure that each soup has clean nutrition of various vegetables, no gluten, low sodium and no added sugar. It is the food that empowers, heals and provides a roadway to gut health and by extension to brain health and stability of emotions.

Treat Yourself On Valentine's Day

It is with that self-love that I have created a special Valentine’s day gift package. Its purpose is to honor the love for ourselves as well as for our partners, our children, or special anyone. Each jar of the special soups is made with joy and for the purpose of helping heal our physical bodies. The special all-natural candle from Blaze on Creations is appropriately named Loving Cup. It’s scented with amber, cedar, and mandarin and topped with rose petals. In addition, we include vegan dark chocolate truffles from Nibbles Chocolate. These delicious creations are a quick bite in the richness of texture and flavors.  Both companies are excited to partner with us to bring an impactful trio that would satisfy most senses and propels us toward our North Star. 

In the words of Mr. Tolle,

“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within,”

so before we had on to pleasure-vile stop, take a minute and a deep breath, become aware of your surroundings and acknowledge the millions of chemical reactions manifesting within you, note the joy of just being. Then open your eyes and see your North Star because, like you, it shines bright.

With joy,

Ilona