by Anne Malatt, Australia
I have always loved to treat myself, to reward myself for working hard, to give myself something to make up for what I felt I was lacking, to substitute for love.
What were these treats?
- When I was little, they were sweets. We were allowed one ice cream every Sunday morning, and that was our weekly treat. That was my religion – I looked forward to and savoured that moment of the week!
- On birthdays, we had parties with sweet treats – fairy bread, blancmange, cake. I used to save some of my birthday cake to have for breakfast the next day – it was my favourite part of my birthday – a sweet treat to make up for the fact that it was no longer my special day.
- As I grew older, the nature of the sugar changed – tiramisu, pavlova, champagne, chocolate, liqueurs – but in essence it remained the same.
Why the need for these treats?
I always felt cheated by life. I felt that somehow I had missed out, missed the point of it, that something was missing. Life never felt enough for me. I never felt enough for me.
As time went by, these sweet treats were never enough either. I was a bottomless pit of need. I could never get enough sweets to make me feel good. I got fatter, sicker, sadder, heavier, trying to fill the emptiness inside me.
There came a time when I knew I could not go on like this, that there had to be another way. I went searching for different ways to fulfil myself and finally, after a long hard road, with many false trails and dead ends, I found Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
There I learned that everything was inside me. That there was nothing outside that was greater than me. I learned to connect with the greatness in me through the simplicity of breathing my own breath. And through this connection I have gradually learned to listen to my body, which holds the living wisdom of everything I have ever lived and known.
In this way I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.
And on the days when I struggle and go looking for sugar, I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.
Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.
I am forever inspired by the life and work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
Anne I understand the sweet treats and they still play out in my life today. The remnants of rewarding myself for working so hard, something that was observed within the family too, as I was growing up. And in that process my teeth became sensitive, as the effects of sugar in whatever format it it was in, eroded the enamel. Yet it mattered not as the ignorance and arrogance was that it will be fixed!
Even though it is far from perfect, my go to’s are not like they used to be in the past. I am not owned as much by these stimulants, like before. I am more discerning.
I would rather the sweetness of my own essence, my own magnificence, feed and nourish this body, than a manufactured, false addiction, that lifts, and drops you like a ton of bricks. Then to only reach for more, again and again.
My essence and magnificence is continually pouring through me, ready to be offered and reflected to another…Now that’s LOVE…
I can still relate to this. Years ago I used to claim I was a savoury fan and my sibling was the sweet fan. Little did I know that secretly I was a sweet person too, it was enveloped in alcohol and fizzy drinks!…
Years down the track, there’s always a moment when I crave for sweetness, and it is correct, it is a moment where I’ve dropped, gone into drive and need something to pep me up.
It is that when we connect to that magnificence within us, is far more sweeter than what we ingest, which is temporary. They’re still more to go, but as I discover more of what is within me, I know the treats, the artificial deservings will drop away.
To Treat or to Mis-Treat? That is the question…
Henrietta, love it. Both are unloving and unsupportive to me. A simple question yet a powerful statement with everything that is occurring in this world.
What I find interesting is that the treats and rewards that we are drawn to are often ones that are not that supportive for the body – sweets or alcohol for example do not ‘treat’ the body in any beneficial way and yet we have classified them as treats or rewards. But what are we really then seeking if we realise that we are not doing ourselves any favours? This is a good question to ask for as Anne has presented in this blog, what is really needed to love ourselves up? And if we are not wanting this, then what are we actually doing to ourselves? Perhaps the more correct word is “Mis-treat” until such time that we instead choose to truly treat/love ourselves up.
Sweets and alcohol are easy go to’s and easily purchasable from the supermarkets too. I would rather the simplicity of home cooked foods, that is full of love and made from love. Soul food, enriching and nourishing.
Treats and especially in the form of food is a big one for many of us. I know that I break my day up into parts based on food – my morning cuppa, my lunch time, my dinner and my tea at the end of the day. But why such a dependency on these things when really it is about enjoying the in-between moments too?
This life of seeking treats is such a common phenomenon. There is really so much of us that is motivated based on the treat or the temptation that sits at the end point ‘waiting for us’ and in the process shifts our focus to the end point rather that the steps themselves, and so we live life based on the end rather than the journey itself hence we miss out on the real treat which is to be with ourselves throughout the journey itself.
Many people feel they need treats, or rewards, may be worth taking a moment to ask self why this is? ‘Why the need for these treats? I always felt cheated by life. I felt that somehow I had missed out, missed the point of it, that something was missing. Life never felt enough for me. I never felt enough for me.’
One of the troubles with sugar is that it sends so many false messages to the brain and we can never understand or feel when we are full, or had enough, until we feel ill, so at times it becomes difficult to stop eating.
Yes, sugar is a drug, it gets you addicted so you keep coming back for more.
As well as a preservative type poison that kills probiotics, that is white sugar, so to remain healthy seeing our probiotic are our life line to digestion of our foods, white sugar should be placed on a banned substance list and then Hospitals would all be to big!!!
It’s true that the love within is greater than anything outside of ourselves.
I wonder if we think we deserve a reward because we somehow feel we are having to do something against our own will.
Used to think that treating myself with food and other things was really self caring, for example it might bring me out of the doldrums and provide a distraction or some excitement. As a student of Universal Medicine and the Ageless Wisdom I have come to realise that my essence is love and that my own love is on offer from myself in any moment. Because of this I am coming to understand that in treating myself I am actually in disregard of myself, this is because the love that I am is much greater than anything outside of me. It doesn’t mean a life of austerity or deprivation, it just means if I’m searching for a treat it signifies I’m in disconnection to the love within, because what treat could be greater than being me?
That is a great point Melinda, ‘it just means if I’m searching for a treat it signifies I’m in disconnection to the love within, because what treat could be greater than being me?’
I am starting to feel and see this more and more as well and its a blessing to feel ‘And on the days when I struggle and go looking for sugar, I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.’
It can be sweet things or the need for recognition but the craving of some of this things are great indicators for me today that I’m not connected to my body and with my true value as a woman. I appreciate the honesty of these moments for the clarity that I receive by being open to see and the opportunity to come back again and again with no judgment but with even more tenderness than ever before.
‘There I learned that everything was inside me.’ A learning and the reminder of what we all deep down inside know. Beautiful revelation Anne.
Everything is indeed inside and perhaps that is a game we play to avoid this and hence seek from the outside? Yet deep within we do hold all the answers….hence we cannnot ever stop asking – thank you Inma and Anne.
We are the sweetness and the treat that we are looking far and wide for. Interesting that we go so far looking for what we think we need, but what we are looking for has been with us the whole time and has never been anywhere else other than with us.
I so agree Linda that honesty is the absolute starting point for “learning to accept and love ourselves”, for without it the doorway is firmly shut. Sometimes the level of honesty that is needed can be very challenging but if we stay steady and keep on saying yes, once the wobbles have subsided it is so worth the commitment, as the commitment to learning to love who we truly are is price-less.
I totally agree Anne, that “every day is a treat” and if sometime during the day it is not feeling like it is, it’s time to stop and ask – I wonder why? Usually it’s because I’ve disconnected from myself and gone on to auto-pilot instead. I’ve discovered that leaving the ‘driving’ of my life to ‘’someone else’ usually means I don’t end up where I want to be and the feeling of joy that could be possible is nowhere to be seen. Now that’s not the kind of day I choose anymore.
Treating ourselves with love rather than sweets…hmm a much more supportive and healthy option, one that can be easily felt in the body.
I reckon the absence of self love is the reason why diets don’t work, we use food as a substitute for love and healing not realising the love we have within, and the loving way we could treat ourselves instead of using food.
Hear, hear.
When we’re not feeling connected to ourselves, we crave anything – sugar, cake, praise and recognition from others, so as to not feel that emptiness. The irony is that we’re never empty – it can feel like it, when we feel out of sorts and disconnected from our bodies, but underneath that veneer is a deep connection to who we are, and our sense of purpose.
Sweet treats are part of someone’s movements who loves speaks and thinks of them very highly.
Love the title of this blog Anne it inspires and offers much to us all when you say ‘…..I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care’.
So simple yet such a a pivotal moment when we are reminded again, “There I learned that everything was inside me. That there was nothing outside that was greater than me.” That is the most sweetest gift we can give ourselves…. connection with our essence.
It’s a process to feel the love within but one that is so worth it, as once we reconnect to it, it is a lifetime of deepening and exploration. The truth is the commitment to this deepening is constant and there will not be the urge or need for sweets.
Isn’t it fascinating how as kids some of our favourite moments or most pronounced moments involved sugar or treats. It’s a bit like they replaced the real special-ness of life, and they substitute knowing we are worth being cherished and worth being treated with absolute respect, love and care.
Yes it is a cheap substitute that prevents us from easily and naturally feel that permanent sweetness of love within.
It’s a beautiful comment Meg and it highlights that there is a true richness to life that comes from the love we can share, which we are not expressing.
I haven’t always gone for sugar as a treat, but have definitely looked for rewards. I’ve found though when I’m looking for a reward I’m not in the present. It’s like not wanting to be where I’m at and be somewhere else. Nothing beats connecting to my body and within, there’s no treat that touches the side.
The reminder that I can choose to treat myself with love, is so foreign to how I was brought up, but it offers volumes, and is so rewarding as a part of my everyday life.
There is no greater treat we can give ourselves and why than, “To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.”
There is no greater we can give ourselves and why than, “To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.”
A beautifully honest blog on how we can truly ‘treat’ ourselves by connecting to the love within.
I’ve been finding that if I crave anything, even raw sesame seeds, something is awry. There’s a part of my awareness that I am resisting to feel. Cravings are never because I am hungry.
Well said Leigh for as you say any craving is because there is something we do not want to feel and take responsibility for. However, it is at those moments, if we honour what is being reflected to us, are moments of learning and evolution.
“Cravings are never because I am hungry.” Too true Leigh. Cravings signal we need more love, not food, How often do we make the choice to connect deeper and to love, rather than reach out for the fake substitute.
Treats can come in various forms and sometimes it’s not so obvious that I am using food or engaged in some activity to make up for my own absence, and it seems to happen only because I forget to choose my own breath and I am not there with me but something else is.
Treats are there to replace treating ourselves lovingly. That is why they are a hit everywhere.
I have put on weight recently and I know it is because I don’t want to feel what is going on outside which is actually an invitation to feel more deeply what is happening on the inside. In order to avoid these feelings I eat dulling or stimulating or even numbing foods and this delays my taking responsibility in dealing with whatever. There are so many layers to heal and when I am willing I can feel old energy leaving and more coming up to be discarded. There is always so much unseen support for us too, again when we are willing to connect and treat ourselves with love.
Elaine I can’t relate to what you have shared here. That something that we don’t want to feel is often if not alway completely amazing. Sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but along with feeling how speculator we are is that we have and continue to deny ourselves connecting to this. Choosing love is the only way to chip away at this denial.
Treating ourselves with love is far more loving for our health and well-being than the little indulgences and rewards that if we are honest are not that loving for our bodies.
Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love. Now that is the new way to live our life, to love giving to ourselves and to love sharing all of who we are without holding back, in our fullness, there is no emptiness and thus no need for treats and rewards; We Are Already Everything.
Love this Anne. We are the treat – the sweetness is inside us. If we forsake this inner sweetness then it makes sense that we succumb to the desire to go in search of a sweet filler to take its place.
I love your play on the word ‘treat’ Anne. Treating oneself with great love and care cancels out the need for any so called ‘treats’. Rewards are totally unnecessary when our sweetness has been accessed from the inside as this is fulfilling. Whereas treats fed to us from the outside are never enough to even touch the sides.
When we see, value and appreciate the sweet, tender and gentle being’s we are already we begin to see how our bodies and movements can reflect these qualities. These qualities are also not unique to some and not others we are all equally sweet and tender by nature, so when one person shares these qualities openly for all, we all have the opportunity to revel in the sweetness together.
Treating ourselves with true loving care is to appreciate the tender sweetness of who we are.
I love the idea of treating ourselves with love, kindness and understanding. It is so normal to abuse our bodies, think negatively about ourselves or just finding ourselves ‘average’. Yet it should not be a treat but a true living way of being loving with ourselves but until that is a natural way – treating ourselves with love and care is very supportive to do.
The need to treat ourselves needs to be examined, as when in our fullness there is nothing else that is needed as we are already everything.
Anne thank you for writing such a lovely blog, which resonated with me too. Sugar was always an easy fall back when life got tough, or I simply needed a pick me up, yet the more sugar we eat the more we appear to crave it, and it is lovely when we no longer have to rely on such a fix.
Anne, I so love your blogs and the simplicity and truth you deliver. You’re a definite treat.
Same here Victoria, when I come across a blog of Anne it always is a true treat with a loving message I cannot deny, do not want to deny. It always pulls me up to be more of who I am.
How amazing it is that the craving for something sweet is simply a message that we have somehow lost our natural ‘sweetness’. In this moment our body definitely doesn’t want us to fill it up with sweet foods and drinks to assuage the craving but simply take the time to feel what is out of balance in our life.
And every day you treat yourself with love, how beautiful Anne, ‘I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.’ Absolutely, and the more we bring this to ourselves the easier it then becomes to share with all.
I’ve never had a ‘sweet tooth’ but I did have lots of other treats, food was a big one along with TV and movies. I just realised today that how much I eat for lunch, even if it’s a healthy meal, can be eaten as a treat… like if I’ve had a big morning I then look forward to my lunch.
Once we have that awareness that how we treat ourselves will be the result of our behaviours we will know love in full.
We spend so much time searching and distracting ourselves on the outside, and forget to look inside, where we have everything, ‘That there was nothing outside that was greater than me. I learned to connect with the greatness in me through the simplicity of breathing my own breath. And through this connection I have gradually learned to listen to my body, which holds the living wisdom of everything I have ever lived and known.’
I love this play on words Anne. It is a modern day version of Shakespeare’s proverbial question – ‘to be or not to be?’:
‘I love to treat myself’ OR, ‘I treat myself with love’.
The choice is and always has been ours.
The treat/reward thing is very much ingrained in our society. A while ago I began to question if what we consider a treat really is a treat. For a moment of satisfaction of the sweet flavour in our mouth, what follows in not what I would call a treat – racy behaviour, getting tired after the sugar has worn off, emotional and dramatic behaviour…all that and more is not what I want to treat myself or kids with.
In our family the treat was on the Saturday evening with crisps and softdrinks, indeed it was my religion and I was very much looking forward to that special moment in the weekend. And I continued giving myself treats during my life because I thought I deserved something, a kind of reward as I found it hard to be in the world. Now I choose to stay connected to the best of my abilities and rewards are no longer needed only when I do not listen to my wise body the need for a treat can pop up but this inspires me to deepen my relationship with the love inside me.
Beautiful Anne. Treating myself with love and care. Rather than ‘treating’ myself to sugar sounds like a supportive recipe to me.
I know when I am seeking a reward or recognition from others, it’s because I have left myself and feel the gap in me that my choices have led to. When I choose to stay connected to my movements and my motivation for each move is simply to stay with myself, I don’t feel the same need. Being with me is its own reward.
A beautiful reminder instead of looking for sweet food look for what we are missing within that we are not being fulfilled by life. We need to take responsibility for this seeming “lack” and listen to our bodies for the answer.
When we think we are treating ourselves with love but the experience has not left us feeling loved, the fact that we do not feel loved is a testimony that we are love and we know love. So if we can simply choose to be loving again–even if others do not accept this from us, we can start being love with ourselves.
Anne, just brilliant, thank you. And to feel how everyday can be a treat, just being us, and to know we come from love so of course we treat ourselves with love, such a great reminder this morning. Nothing less than love, and we can choose it anytime.
“In this way I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.” It’s not about saying no to treats but ‘yes!’ to treats of love, kindness, tenderness, gentleness, grace and honouring.
Yes treating ourselves with love is totally different than what we usually think treating ourselves is. Having a sugary snack tastes good but makes us feel not so good afterwards in our body as it is not a true nutrition for the body, so in truth this is not a treat but something our body needs to recover from.
Interesting, the word ‘treat’ and how we can use it as an excuse to indulge when it’s true meaning is to give ourselves the care, time and space to nurture the inner qualities of who we are. The indulgence form seems like the fake meaning and a distraction away from the true quality of the word.
A very beautiful offering on how we can truly sweeten our lives.
Some days things seem a little harder or more intense than others. However, on these days, the choice to be tender with my body is still there for me and when I choose to be tender, the intensity is thwarted, understanding rises and the absolute appreciation of my stillness is there under the very minor disturbance that has affected me.
As I begin to accept the love that I know is within me I realise that it is there all the time and it never goes away; it a question as to whether I choose to connect to it or not.
So powerful Anne, “I learned that everything was inside me.” we are so well versed in looking outside of ourselves for love, support, what to do, what to eat, how to live. That we don’t foster that inner knowing that we have inside of us, which is such a shame because it really does hold all the wisdom in the world.
Well said Reagan – we’ve got it all, yet the more we are distracted by looking outside of ourselves for answers or connection the less we will feel and register the fact that we are already all we’ve ever wanted.
Just yesterday, I noticed how I thought I was entitled to have time just for myself – and it was indeed a mixture of needing to give myself deeply nurturing care and feeling missing out as I actually have not had any day off for a very long time, but the thing is I am settling in more at my new job getting on better with my colleague, relationships becoming more honest and deeper… I thought I was being more ‘me’ and what feels to me is that I am allowing myself to be taken over by something that thinks being who I am is a chore. Woa.
It’s a really great comment Fumiyo highlighting time off as a treat, and the approach to being ourselves in brotherhood as work that we also need time off from!
Life for me is opening up more from reading this lovely blog Anne. Thank you for sharing I feel privileged from the developing understandings I have reached from what you have presented. Sweet things in my life will never be the same. I also feel that whenever I need any type of taste sensation I will remember your blog.
It is great to consider why we feel the need to treat ourselves and when we feel these desires.
The difference is vast in treating ourselves lovingly and in loving, treating ourselves with sweet treats..
A great point Anne that when we choose sweets it is because we have not lived in the fullness of what we have connected to within. This I take into my day today and surrender to exploring why I pull away from living the vast, full, steady holding love I feel within.
‘Life never felt enough for me.’ I can relate to this Anne – when life is only seen for what meets the eye rather than felt and observed for what is actually going on behind the scenes, it feels less and reduced. I find I want more, sweet, salty, carby, anything, to distract or numb the fact that I am living as a reduced version of myself. i.e. not being aware of energy.
Great point Rachael, as I have am taken out by different tastes, which can cause me to over eat and end up with ‘a reduced version of my self and thus not being aware of energy.’
I love how you share “on the days when I struggle and go looking for sugar, I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.” I also have moments when I go looking for sugar, and it’s great reminder to just stop and acknowledge that I am not my true self, and that I have choice in that moment to go deeper and come back to my Self without any judgement.
You write “every day is a treat” – how glorious and doesn’t it also point in the direction of the root cause of the worldwide obesity epidemic? We use food in the mistaken belief that it will give us something that we don’t already have and because food doesn’t deliver, we keep repeating it like an addicted gambler hanging out and thinking they will hit the jackpot one day.
When we realise that we are what makes every day special, our connection to who we are, our Soul we come to know that there is already richness within that forever awaits to be lived. Through being honest with myself and how my body feels I have discovered that the joy from living in connection to my Soul, to the wisdom of Love from within me as best I can, far exceeds and is so much more lasting that the artificial buzz that comes from a sugar hit. I too and with you Anne as I am learning more and more every day to ‘…treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.’ – so beautifully said.
This to me has added a greater level of awareness in the way you have shared your comment Carola, thank you very much for expanding my day.
I love that you have developed the awareness to recognise that when you reach for sugar it is a sign you have disconnected from yourself and can choose in that moment to stop, come back to yourself and remember that you are more than anything you could ever put in your mouth.
“In this way I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.” And what a beautiful and very powerful learning this is.
We can reward ourselves in many different ways to numb and distract ourselves, even having a cup of tea can be a reward. Therefore we have to be super honest and discerning as to what we choose is either supportive or rewarding to our body.
Like holidays we take in exotic locations once a year, for many being kind and loving themselves is an act that we do when we get ill or life gets out of control. What you show here Anne is Love is designed for us to live every moment we are alive. When we don’t, we build up a deficit just like a loan to a bank. It’s then just a matter of time till life asks us to pay it right back. One way or the other we are all eventually returning to live in a loving way everyday just as you describe.
I no longer eat cakes and sweets, but how and what I eat pretty much reveals where I am at with myself and it’s amazing how much I am relying on food to offset the nervous energy and exhaustion in my body.
Hi Anne, love reading your blogs . . .“Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.” . . . now love is a treat that is totally sustainable and doesn’t rot your teeth!
Everytime I’m craving something sweet, I know I’m not connected to myself.. I’m feeling some kind of exhaustion or lethargy, because of the way in which I’ve been working and checked out, and I’m looking for something to pick me up again. When we truly stop and feel, we get to experience the way we’ve been living and what we’ve been driving our bodies with – it’s an opportunity to make different choices, so we don’t perpetuate more of the same.
This is an incredibly revelatory post Anne, of the majesty within that awaits us all. It so deeply true that whenever we are living in connection to our Soul we are eternally treated with the exquisite fulfilling quality of who we are that is simply Heavenly.
A lovely re read Anne. Thank you for reminding me that we are love and come from love and that those craving for “treats” that we feel we deserve are telling us to be more loving and self nurturing.
“And on the days when I struggle and go looking for sugar, I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.” this is great to remember to use the wanting of something sweet as an indication that we need to surrender and go deeper. In the past when I’ve given in to these cravings it feels like I’m building a wall in between myself and how I really feel.
Anne I was addicted to everything what was sweet and therefore I love what you have shared so honestly in your amazing blog. I love this sentences as it confirms me in what I do as well if I have this craving for sweet things: “And on the days when I struggle and go looking for sugar, I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.”
Imagine if everytime you went to treat yourself, maybe with something sweet or a gift or whatever, instead you treated yourself with kindness and true care, where could that lead? I reckon a week experimenting with this and your life will never be the same again…
Great question Meg, I love it. Why punish ourselves with a treat when we can support ourselves with a treat that brings us back to our fullness not depletes it.
Yeh the way you describe it makes me think a bit of a tank of petrol, when it’s low we naturally top it up, however when we are low we often deplete our supply further, rather than topping our care-tank up.
I have always been a sucker for a reward, for something to look forward to, it seemed to make everything else easier, as you know relief is coming. Slowly I am braking this mentality, I use to have it with coffee, I would really look forward to that cup, I would always go to the coffee shop once I had dropped the kids at school. This ritual or addiction it changed to decafe, then dandy but once I stopped having milky drinks, I no longer used it as a treat, I didn’t miss or crave the drink that I had planned my mornings around for 15 years. My drink just changed to herbal tea that I sometimes had. Its interesting that all the things that I have used as treats, have been things that aren’t that good for me, doesn’t make sense if they are suppose to be a reward.
So beautiful to re-read your blog Anne. I love this ” To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.” My inspiration for today. The more we love the more it magnifies.
Anne, what a blessing to read your blog. I have found when I eat sugary things my body feels tired and run down and everything starts to get harder and fall apart, yet when I treat myself with love suddenly there is an immense fullness which supports me. It is amazing the knock on effect each of our actions has. Say with sugar if I have a little bit I want more and the same with love! So the question arises do I want a tired, run down sugary body or do I want one full of love?
I love the simplicity in your and of what you are sharing. Life does not need to be hard and struggling, it just takes a few and consistent steps every day that allow us to see more of the sweetness that we are.
We pretty much all have “TS” (Treat Syndrome) in some form or other… and TS is always a substitute for TSL ( True Self Love) which, once experienced will, as Anne writes, be the direction we will start to turn to.
Thank you Anne, a beautiful recipe for life, to look at the ingredients that we choose in our everyday life. Choosing love and tenderness brings all the sweetness that we already are.
Lovely to feel the truth of your loving recipe Mary. Everyday is our living recipe and the ingredients we choose by the choices we make = the quality of our lives.
Love what you have written here Anne, so simple ‘That there was nothing outside that was greater than me. I learned to connect with the greatness in me through the simplicity of breathing my own breath.’ We don’t place enough importance on breathing our own breath, something that I look at and work on each and every day.
Great awareness here as to why we feel we need to treat ourselves. I can relate to it a lot “I always felt cheated by life. I felt that somehow I had missed out, missed the point of it, that something was missing. Life never felt enough for me. I never felt enough for me.” If I don’t feel enough for me then of course I’m going to look to so-called ‘treats’ to fill me up. The beauty of the Way of the Livingness as presented by Serge Benhayon, and of which I am a Student, is that we learn to fill ourselves up from the inside until we are positively full to the brim with ourselves. This brings a whole new understanding and appreciation for the phrase, being ‘full of yourself’. Thrown as an insult when in truth it is our natural way of being, which has sadly been forgotten and replaced with an emptiness we then try to fill with whatever we can from the outside. All is never lost though – our fullness is still inside just waiting for us to reconnect to it. Its a simple choice.
Knowing that we have everything we need, that everything is within us and there is no need to search, no need to fill ourselves with treats, is a beautiful revelation. Treating ourselves with love is the key. I know I always thought I was wrong even though I behaved as if I was right. There was no foundation of love for me, nothing solid that I felt but now I feel differently. So the need I have for the sweet things has diminished. Using any craving I get to realise that I need to come back to me is a great idea.
Anne this is very good medicine “To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.”
…..When we are not met by ourselves, it is impossible to be met by others.
“I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.”
Thank you Anne for re-defining the phrase “treating oneself” to a much truer meaning. There is no outer reward that can make up for the lack of connection to the love we are.
“I learned that everything was inside me. That there was nothing outside that was greater than me.”
This is the essential teaching that changes lives and that makes Universal Medicine so successful – it is gold!
I can relate to what you share here Anne, I have always used food as a reward to myself. Having let this pattern go with the support of Universal Medicine presentations, I can still feel there are times when I am looking for a reward in the way of food – this usually never works and I appreciate your reminder that this is a sign we are not being our true selves and what we are truly craving is treating ourselves with love and tenderness.
Short but sweet Anne (pun intended!). I can so relate to this… I always had a sweet tooth and in later years began to use coffee, alcohol and over indulgence in food as my rewards and escape from life. Even though I’ve long given up coffee, alcohol and sugar, it’s still really obvious to me now when I’m not feeling enough just being me or that I’m wanting to avoid feeling or dealing with something, because I find myself heading to the fridge! It’s a stop moment to ask myself what is it that I need something else to ‘fill’ me up… And while I don’t always take the opportunity to stop, I’m much more aware of what is going on and what I’m choosing to avoid.
I loved your comment Anne about holding firm to the understanding that when we have an ‘off time’ and are seeking some sort of distraction and comfort, we are simply not being ourselves because in reality there is such purity in what we naturally are. The simplicity in this is stunning because it sums up so clearly that we are an all encompassing love and then there is everything else we can choose to deny and override this fact.
Love your shift in treats – from sickly sweet sugar to pure unadulterated love. Love doesn’t fill us up with false promises only to crash us a while later. It’s who we naturally are – ready and waiting.
I treat myself with love, I love it Anne. All too often these days we look outside of ourselves for treats to recognise and reward ourselves instead of treating ourselves with love, a love that originates from within and has an infinite supply. A love that needs no external source to instigate or feed it. Great blog.
We have been so conditioned to consider the measure of our worthiness by how we “treat” ourselves. This is translated to giving ourselves treats, sugar, chocolate, luxury items and we know the list. It’s like someone misinterpreted the memo about love being how we treat ourselves. Holding ourselves in the love, in the esteem that we are worthy of is the key to not needing and needing to be filled by something else.
Thank you for spinning ‘a treat’ on its head.
To look further then just seeing a treat for a sweet and seeing the underlying foray that symbolises a treat for an individual. Better than chocolate 😉
This is inspiring Anne, I can see how treats are not needed, but often I get seduced by the easy and quick fix they present. But I am starting to feel more and more that that isn’t it as my body doesn’t like to be fixed, it likes to be healed and move on without this burden. I can feel how this is a great thing to practise, truly look at why I am needing a treat, and knowing that there is nothing more that I am seeking than what is within me.
I love how you have turned around the idea of treating ourselves Anne and instead of looking outside for a quick fix, which our body will bear the consequences of, we can simply choose to treat ourselves with love. So beautifully simple and loving and I feel inspired to look at those times where I still go searching for an outside treat or reward and know that I always have the choice to come back to myself.
Beautiful shared how we have brought ourselves into a rhythm that is actually disengaging us to be ourselves. To numb instead of feelings and make sure we confirm ourselves in the lie we have once created (to separate from our divine source, God, heaven). It is infinate to think that we are alone or that we have nothing else to life for.. As once we have connected to ourselves again – we will find that no other treat can beat that ! No wonder why we have tried to eat so many sweets and cake!
Thank God for Serge Benhayon, who made me understand , and since that I have deeply felt, what mattered in life – which was true connection with myself and so with others again – I never felt so free. No cake for me – simply because I am sweet enough myself:)
Treating myself was also a familiar patten of behaviour which, as I became more aware, I realised just how easily I would convince myself that I had earned the reward – because I had worked hard or had a successful day. I found myself making any excuses, until I became honest with myself and what was really going on.
‘Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.’ – thank you Anne such a beautiful and simple reminder.
Thank you Anne for your beautiful expression. We live in a society in which rewards and treats are so prevalent. As parents we are constantly rewarding our children for good behaviour with treats which ingrains this pattern of accepting life as not being ok because at least there is the treat to look forward to and relieve the discomfort momentarily. But seeing that it is possible to live in a way where every moment is much better than a short lived high, as shown by Serge Benhayon, was a revelation to me. It inspires me to continue to deepen my connection to the love I am in every moment so that I no longer need the little pick me ups along the way.
“I treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love”. The perfect recipe to have as a treat.
Anne beautifully expressed, having filled up on cakes and ice cream in the past it reminded me of how disconnected I was from myself at that time. A great reminder of how simple it really is to stay connected.
I used to reward myself with abusive choices thinking that I was being loving to myself. Reconnecting to the truth that I was in fact love and what love truly was changed the whole meaning of ‘treating’ myself, now that I know I only deserve and have responsibility to be love and nothing less.
That’s such a good thing to consider Anne. When I go looking for sweet things I need to consider what I am missing of myself and how I can appreciate the amazing person that I am.
And the great part about this Marika, is that the sweetness of love has none of the after effects that sugar does!
This is such a simple message that I can relate…. Treating myself with love instead of food and then simply using food in a way that is simply there to nourish the body to be able to treat it with love. Love it!
Absolutely Angela using food in a supportive way to enabling more loving treatment of ourselves.
I loved reading your blog Anne, I don’t think I really treated myself much through my life, after all I really wasn’t worth much, and that, would have been selfish. Now when I read your words of treat myself, they sound so beautiful, loving and caring, just like I find myself to be, so why wouldn’t I treat myself.
Great reading this blog right now, as I am going through a sweet phase. I find it quite a challenge to completely let go of sugar, but it starts with the awareness and the understanding. And the knowing that all the love and sweetness is inside me!
Upon pondering the ‘treat’ it occurred to me how normal treats are in our life, either given to our self or given by another, why? If what was normal was loving ourselves, treating ourselves regularly and consistently with true care, would there be such a thing as treats? Treating ourselves with love, as you have shared Anne, asks for no reward as it is complete in itself, and the prize resides from within.
For me sugar was part of my daily life, and when I decided to go healthy, I was free from any desert for six month and then the in disguise treats would crawl in. The so called guilt free desert, sugar free when in fact the sugar is still there but maybe with a “unrefined” label or low GI, and sure, all these can be supportive as a bridge. But the need for a reward is still there as well as the addiction!
I’ve often had that feeling at the end of the day… time for a treat either as a reward for a GREAT day, or a reward for getting to the end of a difficult day! I’ve got a thousand reasons for my treat. But as you say Anne, the treat is needed because the day was not enough.
Thank you Anne. It can be so easy to get caught in the highs and the lows – and stimulating ourselves to feel the highs so we can get out of the lows. I have learned too that every moment of every day is an opportunity to ‘treat’ myself to more love and delicateness – in the way I walk, talk, adjust my hair, and dress. We don’t need sugar or champagne for this, just connection to ourselves.
Its so easy to come from the mentality of needing to reward ourselves when we accomplish something. The problem is this external reward system is never enough. Its like climbing a mountain and thinking you have got the the peak and just as you get ready to enjoy your reward you find there is yet another peak. Then another ….and another. When you are consumed with just the peaks of life it completely disregards the view you have if you just turn around, pause and appreciate exactly where you are at.
‘Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love’. Beautiful blog Anne.
Being generous with myself is something I never really put much energy into, and what I am discovering lately is that there is something about allowing myself time that feels very generous, nurturing and supportive.
Yes Fumiyo allowing myself the space to do what needs to be done is so supportive rather than rushing to achieve a never-ending ‘to do’ list and feeling the need to reward myself for having got through another day.
I can really relate to your blog Anne, if I lose touch with myself in comes the urge to look for a ‘sweetener’, something to fill the space I have left. Love your words here…
“Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.”
Believing we give ourselves treat – but in fact we only cheat.
Cheating on ourselves creates more and more need, instead of simply embracing the wonderful person that each of us is.
Thank You Anne for sharing. I remember in the past I was a person who had a pull toward sweet foods and even now I am occasionally drawn to be tempted. This will I know decrease, the more I become my true self and listen to my whole body instead of just my head.
When we are connected to the love that we are, no sweeteners are required.
Your sharing is a wonderful example of how life is changing, when we start to take responsibility for our own choices and when we stop playing games. Thank you for this great blog.
Thank you Anne for sharing this simple and beautiful blog and your choice to go deeper when your sugar cravings come up – I appreciate your honesty with this and how supportive this is for me and many others who may deal with cravings from time to time. I especially love this line – ‘Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.’
It is beautiful to feel your willingness and honesty to look deeper within yourself when those cravings come up, as it is more often than not something else we are trying to escape from and not feel. That connection with our bodies is truly healing if we so choose to listen to it. Thank you Anne
A really lovely and simple blog Anne. Using sugar cravings as a sign and invitation to go deeper and come back to connection with yourself is a great reflection for me and I’m sure many others.
“In this way I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care.” I love this Anne. Once you have the experience of truly loving yourself cake doesn’t even get a look in!
Beautiful blog Anne. I loved this line ” I have gradually learned to listen to my body, which holds the living wisdom of everything I have ever lived and known.” I had not really realised this. I have had a belief that I am inadequate which means that I feel like I have to always prove myself, that I am not enough, that the moments of greatness I feel and express fall behind me. It’s wonderful to realise that it’s all still inside me, the wisdom I have lived. Living from the body is definitely very different to living from the mind.
Thank you Anne, it really is a treat reading your words, of treating your self with your own love. So beautiful to honour the love that we come from and the love that we are.
You brought back memories for me Anne, with eating my birthday cake for breakfast the morning after my birthday. Because I was no longer the special one, my day had passed. I would do it Boxing day too, because another special day, Christmas, was over for another year. Really, I could find any reason to celebrate with cake, sometimes I still find myself justifying why it’s a good thing to make a cake. But not when I love me, and love what’s inside of me. No sweat treat is needed because there isn’t a hole to fill.
Yup, I’ve done this too… any excuse or reason to keep it going. If I’m coming from that feeling of not being enough its insatiable (to the point where I know I’m full, or had too much but still keep going).
I can certainly relate to seeking that sweet treat, or even a salty treat like chips, and it is always at times when I don’t want to feel my body and what is going on in my life, however I too have “…gradually learned to listen to my body, which holds the living wisdom of everything I have ever lived and known.” And through taking the time to stop and consider what it is sharing with me my life is completely changing – I have so much more love and respect for myself, and slowly those treats are becoming less and less as I take more loving care of my body.
Anne I love you blog – “sweet & short” and with so much truth! I love following expression: “And on the days when I struggle and go looking for sugar, I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.” I can admit that this is so true – Thank you for sharing this it is a good reminder.
I can absolutely relate to reaching for sweet food to treat myself. But I too have discovered that within me is a true and sacred sweetness that is beyond compare. And I realise that when I do feel the craving for something sweet I see that this is an opportunity to stop and feel what is going on – ‘I see that as a sign, showing me that I am not my true self, and an invitation to stop, go deeper, and come back to myself, where everything already is.’ Beautifully said Anne thank you.
This is beautiful Anne, I can relate to using food and especially sweets as a reward or a way to make myself feel better (however short lived!). Thanks for a great reminder to stop and take a look at what is going on when that sugar craving comes knocking.
I can certainly relate to looking for those little treats that sweeten life. I don’t have these cravings that much any more, but when I do, I know that I need to connect deeper with myself as I am looking to fill a void.
I can feel the depth to what you have shared, an inspiration to me too (:
There are so many ways that we use to fill that emptiness within ourselves to avoid feeling it’s presence in the first place. And as I start to feel that fullness that is actually within me there is again and avoidance, this time it is avoiding not the emptiness but the fact that I had everything already within me and chose to discount and reject such. It’s not pretty but I too am inspired by universal medicine that have consistently shown me that filling the void is a lost cause when everything is already there for us.
Leighmatson, it feels like a lost cause for me too as when I eat the sugar, it doesn’t fill the emptiness inside. It is a constant re-learning for me. It’s only when I am connected to me that the cravings are just not there and nothing can beat that joy of connection.
I am finding it even more obvious now that especially with sugar that little ‘sweet’ hit is not so sweet in the sense of it being a good thing. Same with crisps as well especially the light and airy ones – they have no substance to them and yet there is this pull to eat more and more in the hope, belief or plainly being fooled into thinking that somehow eating more of this nothingness will make me feel full and content in myself. Often it’s the reverse cause afterwards I am full of something that feels horrible! Sugar can’t compare with what I can connect to and feel in my body if I choose to be aware of what is within me. A depth and clarity and knowing that has more weight to it and doesn’t require anything outside of itself to be known and felt.
‘To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.’ Anne this blog is very beautiful and sweet, and I totally agree, since I allow myself to feel that I am love and treat myself with loving care there is no need for anything else.
I grew up with a great aunt and a godfather who were both addicted to sugar and always had a sweetie for me in their pocket. Callard and Bowser Toffees or Fox’s Glacier Mints. They were both my best friends but they did nothing for my teeth but the revelations in your blog:-
“There I learned that everything was inside me . . , That there was nothing outside . . , I learned to connect with my own breath . . . I learned to truly treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care . . , to treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love”
these amazing revelations are everlasting.
Your choices to treat yourself with love and care are inspiring Anne, you have shown how looking for treats on the outside is a bottomless pit of neediness. Jo your comment about how craving something shows us that it is an opportunity to look deeper and offer ourselves some tender loving care is so wise.
Awesome Anne. Although I never had huge issues with sugar it developed into a need in my thirties which I found quite strange. I also found the work of Universal Medicine and learned that as I had started to feel more empty in my life, I started searching for things to fill it up – so enter sugar. I now also recognise that if I am craving sugar then something in me needs looking at and some tender loving care is in order. It is and remains a great reflection.
From a bottomless pit of need to treating yourself with love, what a beautiful transformation Anne; thank you for sharing your inspirational story.
It seems the reward system is a normal part of life, always looking outwardly, seeking something, and then in the unfulfillment reaching for a momentary treat or comfort to make up for the lack. Although stopping this pattern is a work in progress, I too am grateful to Serge Benhayon for showing me first and foremost, all along I’d been looking in the wrong direction.
Life changes as soon as we realise that everything we need is inside us…’ I learned to connect with the greatness in me through the simplicity of breathing my own breath’. How beautifully simple it can be with the gentle breath technique by Serge Benhayon.
There are so many treats to choose from nowadays, all kinds of food everywhere, so you can really find your own taste, pick from an array of options… I sometime ‘treat’ myself to food that I would usually eat but I eat too much of it and it’s the same feeling of ‘I deserve to eat all of this’ kind of treat. But afterwards I feel full and heavy and realise that was not a treat; that was self-sabotage! Should we re-word ‘treat’ to ‘self-sabotage’? Maybe that will open people’s eyes to what treats really are and what they are really doing.
Anne, it was a real treat to read your gorgeous blog this morning, with the beautiful reminder of the importance of treating our selves with love, as we are all love and come from love. I will remember this as I go about my day.
I agree Elizabeth. It’s funny how we indulge as a self reward – as if the world owes us something – but really that is not a treat. The treat is the care and love we have for ourselves. How simply wonderful.
Beautiful Anne. Your words about what you refound within yourself, that “there was nothing outside that was greater than me” say it all, and mark the point where we can truly begin to heal our desires to be ‘filled’ by stimulating foods, and the rest…
Not so long ago, I would have read these words and thought of them as just a ‘lovely notion’, something actually still ‘outside’ of myself. Yet also, through being a student of Universal Medicine and having the absolute blessing of attending many of Serge Benhayon’s presentations, these words – that there IS true greatness within, and this is all that I am – are a tangible reality in my life.
Thank-you for saying them out loud in such brilliant fashion.
Treat is an interesting word. In the past the treat came to you from the outside. Then you have started treat-ing you in a self loving way. The old treats ceased to be necessary because you discovered that the treat is you! Great journey!!
I agree with you Zofia, it is sad that the “sweet treat ” of cake was needed to make up for our sadness of a birthday gone. We need to remind our children and ourselves that each day is just as important as the next, that we are always special no matter what day it is . Thank you Anne for reminding me to make sure I am Love first and then Loving all those I come into contact with through my day in the same way. How beautiful if we could be taught when we are small children that we don’t need anything outside of ourselves to make us feel OK. Thank you to Serge Benhayon for teaching us to be self nurturing first and that we all come from Love.
I treat myself with love. Such simplicity but a profound way to live.
Love this blog Anne, short and sweet 😉 and a beautiful reminder that we are all worth treating with love.
Lovely post Anne, and your words about your Birthday cake the next day got me reflecting how it was the same reminder for me “a sweet treat to make up for the fact that it was no longer my special day”. How sad that as a young child or adult we can feel so marked by a piece of cake or treat as us being or feeling ‘special’, in other words, worth celebrating. Self-love is worth everything as you share. And this love is infinitely available to enjoy.
Awww, this is all so beautiful Anne, especially “Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.” I am learning now myself to go deeper with this every day.
I totally agree Jeanette, this blog is such a treat to read : ). Thank you Anne, I love what you share here so beautifully. Yes, I am learning the same, thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I have been able to change how I operated, constantly looking for treats out there. And as Jeanette said, there is room to go deeper with this for me too.
“I have learned to truly treat myself. To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love.” This is so beautiful to read and the worthiness is definitely warranted. When we understand a true treat we get to feel everything that it encompasses, including the person themselves.
Thank you Anne for such a lovely sharing, it is great when we finally stop looking outside of ourselves and we start to reconnect to the wisdom that is within our bodies and to know that by nurturing and honouring that connection is the best way we will ever treat ourselves.
Beautiful, Anne, ‘Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.’
So simple and a lovely way to start each day.
And that’s the sweetest thing of all… To treat yourself with love!
Such a wonderful, simple sharing and such a great reminder that is is just about connecting to me via my breath and looking for the signs when you are seeking outside for things to ‘sweeten’ the deal or distract me. I can miss them sometimes, but continue to bring myself back to love.
It’s so true, when you are feeling lovely in yourself it’s like every movement is a little treat and nothing could be better. No need for anything else.
i totally agree Emily! Those moments are awesome! We are awesome
So awesome ! 😀
Thank you Anne. Love is a treat – I never saw it that way – a treat was always food related. But how gorgeous to consider that loving ourselves is the ‘reward’ we need. It totally exposes how reliant a lot of children and adults are on sweets for rewards. when actually – a little more love can stop us feeling an emptiness that we need to fill 🙂
That is very powerful and supportive indeed. Love offers us a holding that is constant and unwavering. Though why have we allowed the idea of a treat to be a ‘peak moment’ that is considered better than another? Perhaps this is another way we have allowed the true meaning of words to stray.
Beautifully simple with such a light touch this article brings to the fore how we unwittingly abuse our selves with sugary treats. I love this ….’Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself-with love’…brilliant Anne, thank you
Thanks for this blog Anne. I was definitely a ‘treat man’. Anytime and anywhere. It didn’t matter what the occasion was, I would have my sugar fix. Like you, I found Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon and was opened up to the possibility that I was using food, especially sugar, to fill the emptiness inside of me. Once I had that awareness I could then start to make choices that truly supported me and was able to finally let go of my sugary treats. I love this line…’Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.’
I love the simplicity with which you have written this Anne.
I can so relate to this sentence, this is how I used to see life. “I always felt cheated by life. I felt that somehow I had missed out, missed the point of it, that something was missing. Life never felt enough for me. I never felt enough for me”. Sugar was there to sweeten all the areas of my life whether I was happy or sad, it was my constant companion to fill in the emptiness of never being enough.
Hi Anne, I love this blog.
I can relate to being brought up on a diet of sweets, puddings, cakes and chocolate. This went on for many years with a daily dose of chocolate and sweet treats but these days I have reduced my sugar consumption drastically. I no longer feel the need to sit down with a cup of coffee and a whole packet of biscuits as a reward for having a good or bad day.
I put this down to listening to presentations by Serge Benhayon on how food affects the body and also paying attention to the reactions in my body with certain foods.
Dear Anne,
This is a great blog and it rings so true with me. I was always wanting a reward, even half-way through the day and especially in the evening.
What I know now is that the moment I want sugar is because I am tired and choosing to not stop and rest or address why I got myself to this point.
When things are flowing, no treat needed. This week I finished a huge project and not an ounce of me wanted a reward with edible treats. Instead, I treated myself to a lunch time hot bath, face mask and a deep nap. I felt full and ready to start on the next project.
I have come a long way inspired by the life and work of Serge Benhayon.
Thank you Ann for a gem of a blog. I used to eat a LOT of sweets as a child compensating the lack of truth, harmony and love I could not see in this world. I know now that it was the pain of not seeing love around me that attracted me to all that sugar.
It was a treat to read your blog Anne and it reminded me of how I could never just eat a piece of chocolate it had to be the whole bar….even if I didn’t want it I could not stop until it was finished, it was as if I was never satisfied until I had finished it. By the end of the bar I was not really tasting it I just had to finish it, and then I would say to myself I won’t do that again and sure enough the next time I bought a chocolate bar I would consume the lot. It is amazing what we do when we start to look outside ourselves for the love that is already there within us.
I love your words about nothing being greater than me – it’s so true. There is nothing outside of ourselves that could ever be more important than the incredible reservoir of love and wisdom that exists within. Whenever I have felt a pull in life to be concerned about receiving love from another, I simply remember what I have within. No one can ever give me more than what is there already all for me, within.
The gentle breath meditation allows me to come to my centre and feel that love.
“To treat myself with kindness, gentleness and loving care. To treat myself with the love I deserve, because I am love and I come from love”
Thank you Anne the simplicity and clarity in which you write is very inspiring. For years I had looked to treats to make life sweeter, using sugar as a drug to cope with my everyday problems. In the end these kinds of treats are not real treats but insidious hooking devices that I continued to choose in order to not deal with the lack I was feeling. How awesome to now look to true sweetness, the real true treat of looking within! Yummy!!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful piece of wisdom in writing. It has brought my awareness to “treats” and it is through awareness that we can begin to make changes.. one step at a time.
Anne thank you, my quote of the week is ‘Now, every day is a treat. And every day I treat myself – with love.’ It is going up on the fridge, the bathroom mirror and my desk at work.
Anne, absolutely beautiful, I’m smiling feeling the incredible truth in your writing. Amazingly inspiring. Thank you.
Thank you Anne – this is beautifully simple but really powerful at the same time.
I grew up much the same way – looking for and even living for those treats outside of me. They were always just to fill that emptiness of not being with all the love that has always been there deep inside me. Your words are so supportive for us all as they are simply what you have lived and learned from your body – I love the part ‘I have learned to truly treat myself’. It is so true, and over many years your growing love for yourself and all others has always inspired me.
Thank you Anne, your writing is – as always – very inspiring.
So simple your exploration of the word ‘treat’ Anne…funny to notice here that it contains the word eat, but by no means is it limited to this – movies, wine, parties, trips away were all treats (treatments!) I applied to myself to fill the emptiness you write of – the unfillable emptiness. Such treats ended up diminishing me either physically, mentally or emotionally. They ‘tasted’ great but the legacy they left was far from it…so how great were they really? To treat myself with love never diminishes – it confirms and deepens the loveliness of me, building even more love without an ounce of abuse to my physical, mental or emotional state of being…now that’s a treat!
Thanks for taking it a bit further Adrienne! I love how you wrote “To treat myself with love never diminishes – it confirms and deepens the loveliness of me, building even more love without a ounce of abuse to my physical, mental or emotional state of being”.
For me this just exposes how abusive most of, if not all of my treats have been in the past for they were never about love first and foremost.
What a treat you are Anne! :-))
How sweet, “I learned to be sweet to myself.” 🙂
I like this discussion because I also had a sweet tooth for many years. Someone asked me recently how I gave up sugar and I said I learned to be sweet to myself. And I learned how to do that from the teachings presented by Serge Benhayon.
Yes Anne, like Rebecca, I too totally felt it in my body. Thank-you for sharing you, very beauty-full. You definitely did treat us all.
Thankyou Anne this is a beautiful piece of writing, so simple and clear. A real treat to read.
Ah, that medjool date at the end of the day – surely you can’t mean that! Perhaps deserve and dessert come from the same root word. Thank you for this exquisite post about the invitation, the opportunity, to reconnect.
I could hear your beautiful voice as I read your words. I could feel the love that you are connecting to the love that I am – calling me back from a chaotic morning. You are right, the real treat is self-love. Thank you.
Your words are inspiring Anne as are you. Love is the treat we seek in every moment when we are not being love but unlike most ‘treats’ however, love is never sought for just ‘me’ (as in having a me moment) but seen as a responsibility that is lived for us all. Wow what a way to put the idea of having a treat on its head!
Your writing is a treat Anne, and as you treat yourself I feel you treat us all.
The idea of treating ourselves is a long standing one, whether it be with treats, occasions or other objects. What I find quite mind baffling is that most, if not all of the treats we reach for, are actually detrimental to our health. They are not actually treats for our body but hindrances that our body has to clear, whether that be through some physical ailment or an emotional rise that puts our system out of whack. I find now when looking for a treat I look at why I am feeling less than the loveliness I know myself to be and then I choose to reconnect to the knowing I have within, this is truly treating my body.
Very true Toni these supposed treats are like you say so well “hindrances that our body has to clear”. I don’t need treats when I feel full of my own deliciousness and tenderness. Nowadays I don’t deed treats at all.
What is great about this example of treats Toni is it is so simple to understand. We go looking for ‘a treat’ and choose something that will harm ourselves and take us even further from what we were actually missing and looking for. This backwards way is a thread that I am starting to see runs through my life in other ways too, such as the behaviours that I am using to ‘protect’ myself are the very behaviours that leave me feeling I need to be protected.
The truth of the treat… 🙂 You are the queen of beauty and simplicity in writing Anne – what a great piece – it totally resonated with me, I felt it in my body. Now that is amazing writing.