To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”

– Oscar Wilde

My friend Bette was in conflict over turning on her Christmas tree lights. “I usually don’t turn on the tree lights unless I have company.” Bette told me. “One night I was alone, and I felt like looking at the lights. I thought that it would be foolish and wasteful to turn them all on just for myself. Then I realized that I was enough of a reason. I put on the lights and enjoyed one of the most meaningful Christmas-season evenings I can remember.

Do you realize that you are enough of a reason to create something beautiful around you? As my friends Jon-Marc and Anastasia were planning their wedding, they learned an important lesson in self-honoring. “When we considered the cost of flowers, our initial reaction was, ‘That’s beyond our budget,”’ they told me. “Then we looked at each other and said, ‘We and our wedding are worth the flowers!’ The floral arrays turned out to be one of the most meaningful aspects of our celebration.”

A bumper sticker affirms, “I do not need an excuse to experience joy.” We may feel that we need to justify doing something wonderful for ourselves. We declare, “I have worked hard,” or “I haven’t done anything for myself in a while,” or we may create an illness that requires us to rest and play in order to heal. But we have the power to simply say, “I would love to do this, and so I will.” We do not need to rationalize, explain, or defend our self-nurturing to anyone. If an activity brings us peace and delight, that is reason enough.

Help me remember that my nature is love, and my birthright is happiness.

Life is my reason for celebration.