Dear Friends,
during the last month the population of the home I chose by heart – Guatemala – had to endure very painful losses, when the forces of nature spoke up intensively with eruptions of the Vulcano Fuego and earthquakes, that cost hundreds of people their lives and destroyed the dreams of many families in our country.

In situations that rock the collective emotional body so profoundly as such big impacts do, we are well of to be aware of the influence that trauma and emotional pain have on human beings. There is on one hand the big need to step in and help the ones who are in need right now, and on the other hand the mean and dark side of people shows up stronger too. What ever face you meet right now in the outside world, it is an important time for us to practice self-care and self-love, in order to stay balanced and able to be effective in our attempt to assist others. 

If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself.
Barbara De Angelis

Your problem is you’re too busy holding onto your unworthiness.
Ram Dass

You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.
Louise L. Hay

Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world making the most of one’s best.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.
Parker Palmer

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.
Lucille Ball

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Buddha

I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.
Johnny Depp

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.
M. Scott Peck

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.
Jean Shinoda Bolen

When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits – anything that kept me small.  My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.
Kim McMillen

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our self-respect tracks our choices. Every time we act in harmony with our authentic self and our heart, we earn our respect. It is that simple. Every choice matters.
Dan Coppersmith

I want to live in a society filled with people who are curious and concerned about each other rather than afraid of each other. I want to live in a world full of brave people who are willing to risk not only adventure but emotional intimacy. I want to live in a world full of explorers and generous souls rather than people who have voluntarily become prisoners of their own fortresses. I want to live in a world full of people who look into each other’s faces along the path of life and ask, Who are you, my friend, and how can we serve each other?
Elizabeth M. Gilbert

Dear ones, I hope you feel motivated right now to make the clear differentiation between being selfish and taking very good care of your personal love for self, and that you feel inspired to do the right thing for yourself and others. 
Love and Blessings
Edith