Happy Valentine’s Day!
I have to admit, I have had a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day through the years.
For some reason, my romantic relationships often ended right around Valentine’s Day, so it was a holiday associated more with a broken heart than romance. I even accused Hallmark of making up the holiday in an attempt to sell more cards (did you know it’s the second busiest holiday for sending cards—only Christmas is busier!) In fact, in medical school, a bunch of my single friends had a “not bitter” dinner to celebrate their friendship and mold the day into a celebration that honored where they were in life. Through the years, my notion of Valentine’s Day has softened, and I now see it as a day to honor all the relationships in our life—friends, lovers, co-workers, family and pets.
And, while our ideas of relationships have broadened, one relationship is often neglected—our relationship to ourselves. Self-love. To quote Whitney Houston, “Learning to love yourself, It is the greatest love of all”. And it truly is, because our capacity to love others is only as deep as our capacity to love and accept ourselves. And it’s the hardest relationship for me to get right. It’s a work in progress, and I have much more self-compassion now than I used to, but there are days I still fall prey to that deep-seeded belief that, “I have to do to be of value”. Truth is, we are all infinitely valuable before we even do a single thing.
So, on this Valentine’s Day, not only do I want to honor you all—fellow supporters for Ultra Primary Care, I also want to ask you to honor YOURSELVES. What it would look like to be your own Valentine? Take that feeling that you want the very best for them and direct it toward yourself. Really take a moment to sink into that feeling.
What might you do differently? What would you do more of? I’m willing to bet that taking good care of your physical body would be high on the list. So, I encourage you to schedule your preventive physical examination if you haven’t already. Respect and take care of your body for the wondrous miracle that it is.
And, if you need a partner to help you in this self-care journey, we are still accepting new patients at Ultra Primary Care, and would be honored to work with you. Reach out at drchristy@ultraprimarycare.com, or schedule a phone call to learn more at the button below:
