You spend your entire life, from the moment you are born to the day you die, with only one person: you.

Parents come and go.

Partners arrive, stay, leave, return, or don’t.

Children grow, separate, and live their own lives.

Friends shift. Roles change. Seasons end.

But you wake up with yourself every morning.

You fall asleep with yourself every night.

You sit with your thoughts, your body, your memories, your nervous system, always.

This is the only relationship that never takes a break.

And yet, for many of us, it is the relationship we neglect, criticize, pressure, or abandon the most.

In my work, I often see how people speak to themselves with a harshness they would never direct at someone they love.

How they rush themselves through pain.

How they expect resilience without rest, growth without safety, strength without tenderness.

So I gently ask, first them, and also myself:

What is it like to be with you?

Is it safe?

Is it demanding?

Is it critical, impatient, or shaming?

Or is it a place where you can soften, slow down, and tell the truth?

The quality of your life is deeply shaped by the quality of this relationship. 

It sounds like an inspirational quote, but actually it’s an undeniable truth.

How you treat yourself becomes the template for how you allow others to treat you.

How you listen, or don’t listen, to yourself shapes how you show up in relationships.

How safe you feel inside your own body determines whether closeness feels nourishing or threatening.

Loving yourself is not about constant confidence or positive thinking.

It’s about presence.

It’s about staying with yourself when you’re tired instead of pushing harder.

Listening when something feels wrong instead of overriding it.

Offering compassion when you fall short instead of punishment.

It’s about learning to be a steady, kind witness to your own humanity.

So if you pause for a moment and ask yourself honestly:

How is my relationship with me right now?

And just as importantly:

How do I want it to be?

More gentle?

More honest?

More patient?

More respectful of your limits and needs?

More compassionate?

This relationship is not something you perfect.

It’s something you practice, one moment at a time.

Because at the end of the day, no matter who walks beside you,you deserve to be someone you can come home to.

Make this home be a safe and peaceful one!

With care and presence,

Aniela🤍

Photo: Pinterest