Lesson 52

 “A grownup is a child with layers on.” ~ Woody Harrelson

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This is the last lesson in the 52 weeks course of “The Best Year of Your Life” and I want to thank everyone who shared the lessons with me.   I hoped they served to be useful, encouraging and guided you in areas you might have been needing guidance on.  For me personally, they have been timely messages I needed to hear and others served as reminders for things I had forgotten as life happens.

The last lesson deals with going back to the basics and for me sometimes it’s a reminder to honor that inner child in me.

© The Best Year of Your Life by Debbie Ford

Lesson 52: Go Back to the Basics

From the author Debbie Ford…

I trained in martial arts for three years, and one thing I was continually struck by is how much time we spent in each class focusing on the basics. “Without mastering the basics,” my instructor would say, “you can never move on to more advanced techniques.”

How do you create the best year of your life? Pay attention to the basics. Have compassion for yourself. Take time to go within. Set measurable goals. Do what you say you’re going to do. Appreciate what you have.

Take this week to focus on the basics. Strive to make each of these practices a regular part of your lifestyle, and the best year of your life will unfold naturally.

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Your Self-Love Assignment

It’s time for a refresher course on the skills you’ve learned so far during this course. Look back over the past few weeks and note the following:

  • Are you compassionate with yourself, even when you make mistakes?
  • Have you broken agreements with yourself or others that you need to clean up?
  • Have you set goals or committed to action steps that you haven’t fulfilled?
  • Are you nourishing your physical body with proper food, rest, and exercise?
  • Are you taking time each day to go within?

Make a list of any of the basic skills you’ve been neglecting. Then create a plan of action to reintroduce them back into your daily schedule.

Self-Love Points Earned

Give yourself 100 points for each basic skill you reintroduce into your daily routine.

Credits

Hair – Love Soul – Hair*115* Jet Black
Outfit – Turducken – Sailor Outfit Red
Boots – ASO – Rain Boots {Dot Blue} @ The Arcade

French Bulldogs Smoke, Cream & Spot – Alchemy @ The Chapter Four
Blue & Pink Whales – MishMish @ Collabor88
Box Kites Rainbow & Blue & Pink – BoOgErS
Pampas Grass – Kidd
Wild Oat Grass – Kidd
Bubble Chairs – HPMD {used for bubbles}
Tub – Pilot – Bathtime [White] @ The Arcade
Wild Flowers – We’re Closed
Sand dune – Thickbrick Sleaford
Flamingos – Ohmai @ Summer Fest
Beachy Chair Yellow Crab – BoOgErS
Sand Castle – BoOgErS
Shovel & Bucket – BoOgErS
Beach Ball – Magnifique Poses {part of pose pack}
My Crabby Partner – Wimey @ Family Flea Market
Beach Radio [Chartreuse] – Standby Inc.
Toothbrush – Turnip’s

Poses:
Big Jump – Jumpin Jacks {partial pose used}
The Three of Us – Hootinany {partial pose used}

Lesson 51

Dreaming

© The Best Year of Your Life by Debbie Ford

Lesson 51: The Love You Need

We all yearn for different expressions of love at different times in our lives. Sometimes we need acceptance and gentleness; at other times we crave passion and adventure. And although we often look to others to give us the love we need, the highest act of self-love is to learn how to give it to ourselves.

When we take the time to listen to the desires of our hearts, we nurture ourselves from the inside out. By giving ourselves the love we need, we no longer look to others to complete us.

Your Self-Love Assignment

For the next five days, take some time each morning to connect with yourself. Close your eyes and take a few breaths into the area around your heart. As you breathe in, notice any feelings or emotions that are present. Then ask yourself, “What is the love I need right now?” Is it acceptance? Gentleness? Acknowledgment? Respect? Rest? Appreciation?

As you hear the kind of love your heart is longing for, take five more minutes to shower yourself in that type of love.

Self-Love Points Earned

Give yourself 100 points every time you give yourself the love you need.

Credits:

Hair/Hat – Argrace – Equestrian Cap/Dakota Black
Eyes – Slink – Mesh Eyelids
Top – Tee*fy – Laura Unbuttoned Knotted Shirt Lemon
Pants – {mon tissu} – Cotton Pants Khaki
Shoes – Reign – Petal Hoppers White for Slink Flat Feet

Scene:

Daybed – Pixel Mode – The Dreamer – White
All Landscaping – HPMD