True Love

By the photo associated with this post & the fact that it’s February,

You may think this post is about Valentines Day.

Because when I see hearts and cupids in February,

my mind goes there.

Perhaps yours does too.

Fabulous marketing ingrained in our brains from childhood.

Truth be told,

this post is about love

and following your heart,

it’s just Not about some made up holiday.

A “holiday” that makes single people feel lonely.

A “holiday” that makes couples feel obligated to make the day extra special.

To make the day Expensive.

A “holiday” that has skewed peoples perceptions

into believing

that they are somehow 'more special '

by participating in these gestures.

But the truth of the matter is

We Are All Special.

With or without the expensive boxes of bon-bons.

Or the fluffy teddy bears.

This blog post is about loving yourself.

And if You can’t do that in a forth right manner,

I get it.

That’s where I stood

or rather where I slouched,

for a very large portion of my life.

SO if you can’t love yourself forth right in this very moment,

I am asking you to find the smallest bit of courage within yourself

to promise

that you will at the very least attempt

to

Love yourself Greater

Love yourself Bigger

Love yourself Bolder

Love yourself more fiercely

in 2023.

I set out on a journey of this type of fierce self-love

a year and a half ago.

And self-love can mean different things to different people.

For me,

I took a leap.

I took a massive wage loss.

But I followed my dreams.

I was the oldest chick in the classroom ~ some profs included.

(FYI I don't usually refer to myself as a 'chick')

And at times it was a little awkward and a titch uncomfortable.

But I boldly loved myself enough to do it.

I loved myself fiercely enough to carry on.

I loved myself, for me.

I wrote my scripts with heart.

I embraced my passions.

And then when I graduated,

I internally floundered a bit.

I knew this accomplishment wasn’t going to change my world in a day,

but I definitely want it to change my world.

Despite all of the guidance during my program,

I still wasn’t really sure where to start.

Well not 'start'

but rather,

how to Continue.

But within a month of graduating from my program

I starting entering my scripts into festivals.

Toward the end

Of 2022

Two of my Scripts were selected into a Film Festival in L.A.

A proud accomplishment indeed.

And on the last day

Of the first month

Of this new year

2023…

I received

not One

but Two

email of Recognition

from a Film festival in Vancouver!

Email Congratulating me

that Both of my Scripts

are Quarter Finalists in their respective category.

Categories that are so completely different from each other.

Scripts that are so completely different from each other.

It is quite a reaffirming feeling.

The pride that filled my heart as tears stung my eyes,

Is indescribable.

To have not only my husband

but my children tell me how proud they are of me….

I could never come up with the words to explain how wonderful that feels as a mother.

Ok Jodi, so what is your point?

The point is…

I experienced this abundance of postitive feelings,

this immense joy,

this warm affirmation,

this unique feeling of pride,

all because I decided to follow my dreams.

Because I chose to chase my goals.

But mostly,

it all started when I decided to truly Love Myself.

So the moral of this story,

In life ~

Be your own damn Valentine,

all of the time.

But don't get me wrong,

I'm not saying not to love others.

I'm just saying

don't love others so much

that you forget how to love yourself.

And to riff off of that thought,

I'm also not advising you to

'Love Yourself First'

because that would make me a hypocrite.

As a mother I do not know how to do that.

Nor do I want to.

My fierce love for my children has always & will always come first.

They are the very best parts of me.

Tell me of a good person who doesn't love their very best parts more than anything else.

So I guess that All that I am really trying to say comes down to this ~

Always Make Space

in Your Heart

and in Your Life,

To Bravely & Boldly

Love Yourself.