The Enemy Within

"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you." - African Proverb

We are our own worst enemies.  We criticize, and belittle ourselves. We constantly set ourselves up for failure........why is it so hard to see the good in ourselves.    Each and every one of us has talents,
creative energy, smarts, kindness.  Yet we can look ourselves in the mirror and say things to ourselves that no one else would ever dare say.

How do we lose the enemy within?  We have to cut ourselves some slack, strive to do our best,but let go of seeking perfection.  We have to forgive ourselves.   We have to accept who we are, that we have flaws and charms.  We have to know we are human, that we are connected to every other human.  We have to stop the comparisons, the expectations, the judgments.  And as simple as it sounds......we have to love ourselves.

It is easy as we age, to be our enemy.  We curse the frailty of our bodies as they age, we fight the march of time on our faces,  we panic as we see the good health we once enjoyed slithering away.
This is when we need our kindness the most, this is when the inner enemy needs to be chained once and for all. And sorry for the cliche, but this is when we should be our own best friend.

Letting go of the enemy within......it starts with listening as we talk to ourselves, how we talk about ourselves to others.  It is time to make peace, with ourselves.......and just imagine,
when we make peace with ourselves, how easy it will be to make peace with others.