Recently I experienced a delicious breakfast date with myself. I was feeling so complete in my own company. My husband and I were enjoying some time near a beach at a resort in Fiji and that morning I was not ready to eat before he set off for an early game of golf. I decided that eating later would suit me better.
It was lovely and confirming to feel the security, presence and confidence I had around being on my own but not feeling at all lonely. I had an enormous appreciation for how content I felt – and now feel – in myself.
An honouring morning:
- I lay in bed enjoying just being with me until I felt it was time for me to get up – without feeling the need to go into any form of overdrive
- I did what I wanted to do and honoured how I felt. I enjoyed time on the verandah working on my computer and drinking herbal tea
- Mid-morning when I started to feel hungry, I decided to get dressed in a beautiful dress. I did my hair in a way I wanted to wear it, rather than in the most pristine way to look my best; I went for comfort and how I felt and this was empowering in itself
- I walked to the restaurant feeling glorious and excited that I was having some quality time on my own, that I could Be as I am, even in a restaurant full of people
- I waited patiently in line to be served and escorted to my table for one. This was also empowering and lovely to feel how comfortable I felt to walk through the restaurant to my table
- I was escorted to what I think is the best table in the restaurant on the most perfect morning. The table was positioned at the edge of the restaurant, away from the hustle and bustle of people rushing to get their breakfast plate topped up and it was closest to the beautiful scenery of the beach
- I felt blessed and lucky and so appreciative.
My breakfast dining experience – breakfast was great! I ordered an egg white omelette with tomato and had some stir fry cabbage on the side with a little pawpaw and a pot of peppermint tea.
I paid extra attention not only to my meal but how I sat, how I ate and how I drank and all of this was extremely confirming of my connection, presence and stillness.
Each bite of food felt like a warm, soft, delicious kiss and I allowed myself to feel how tenderly I can eat, place food in my mouth and pour and drink my tea. I gave myself space between my bites and savoured the flavour of the food.
Looking back to a similar experience eight years ago, I would have felt:
- uncomfortable to be on my own
- self-conscious about others looking at me
- lonely
- too worried about the situation to even enjoy me
- not connected with myself or
- a lack of presence or tenderness during my dining experience.
That day I felt nothing but my deliciousness and tenderness in expression at a breakfast date with myself. I was completely enjoying my own company, the beautiful scenery and the gift of feeling content with it all.
Inspired by the work of Serge Benhayon and the support of the Practitioners and Student Body of Universal Medicine.
By Johanna Smith, Bachelor of Education, Perth WA
Further Reading:
Yearly Holidays – No Longer Taking a Break from Life, but Enjoying Me!
Today I Sat Down – Nurturing Myself as a Woman
The Greatest Love is Within Me
647 Comments
How sweet is that Johanna… I love the detail you have described your morning to yourself in a blog, this confirms to me the focus on all the details you actually had on that day. This has really inspired me to spend time on my own like that as I still get feelings of needing to have someone with me to feel content or safe. So thank you Johanna!
When everyone can enjoy a lovely breakfast (or lunch or dinner) date with themselves, then we will also be able to enjoy sharing it with others in the true way – unimpeded by need, and in the equality of fullness and Be-ing together.
Those moments where I feel so deeply connected to my essence and presence that every action feels like a massage. There is nothing more delicious than being with me.
A delightful snapshot of how each time we choose to connect deeper to ourselves, our experiences can be so full and yummy. And this is always within our power through choice.
The care and attention you set your date up with feels beautiful Johanna. I also used to love having breakfast out with myself although haven’t done it for some time. What is also interesting is how others perceive someone dining alone. I once had a man come up to my table and ask why was a beautiful woman like me dining alone assuming it wasn’t a choice someone would make. I love my own company but also love dining with others.
It is interesting how others perceive someone dining alone. Now in the era of iphones and ipads, people go to cafe’s I think seeking connection, but instead engage themselves in the technology. In the past others might take a paper or book to read but rarely would they sit and have a meal in full presence with themselves as Johanna describes so beautifully.
What I get from your blog Johanna is how the very simple things we do in everyday life can be transformed from a mundane task into a very connecting experience offering gems of wisdom when done with the joy of presence.
There are so many things I do nowadays that I used to consider as burdensome chores but that are now constant and supportive opportunities to develop my relationship with myself and to deepen my awareness of how I am going. Unloading the dishwasher, folding the laundry, cleaning, cooking, filing etc. – all once tasks that had to be done but that were done with as much expedience as possible; got out of the way to make space for the next thing. By observing attentively I now have beautiful markers in my day as to how I am and, with honesty, this has opened up a whole new level of commitment to me, others and life. Thank you, Victoria, Johanna and Universal Medicine.
How deeply honoring of yourself and what an amazing evolution to be completely Joy-full being with you in full, and taking yourself out for breakfast.
We are so conditioned that eating out has to be a social event, thank you Johanna for breaking these imposed and false beliefs we hold.
I love this Johanna. You have turned what some would consider a dread and others something uncomfortable but perhaps at times necessary, into a joyful loving experience. So inspiring.
A great example of the power and enjoyment that is possible when we choose to be present with ourselves and not need anyone or anything else to ‘keep us company’.
I love this blog Johanna – who ever said a date had to be for two? 🙂
I loved reading this Johanna. I often eat alone and I generally enjoy the experience, although being honest – sometimes I do feel self conscious. The care you took with yourself was inspiring and next time I eat alone I’m looking forward to really paying attention to the detail and simply enjoying the moment with myself.
I have found that is joyful moments such as having breakfast alone in complete content that confirm all that has been lived up until the moment .It is clear the different choices that you are now making on a day to day basis compared to before to be able to sit in such clarity confidence, and company! (when actually it would appear you were alone) quite extraordinary really
The beauty and responsibility of having such a relationship with ourselves as a foundation for all we do. Inspiring indeed.
hahah I like that Oliver! Sitting in clarity, confidence and company.
Johanna, you gave yourself permission to have a date with yourself! I love that and will allow the same for myself.
I love this Elizabeth, – the effort, the love and detail that we put into a date with another we can also do this with ourselves. You are right this feels great – what a lovely way to honour and treat ourselves.
The simplicity of honouring how you are truly feeling and being able to appreciate every single little moment you are having with yourself. A truly amazing piece of writing Johanna and the delicateness and sweetness of your soul definitely shines though here. What an amazing world we live in when we live from our inner most out, no need for approval and just living the gloriousness that we innately are.
This is gorgeous Johanna. I love the detail in which you describe the nurturing and self honouring in this exercise.
“A delicious breakfast date with my self” I love it Johanna, thank you for sharing.
This is a beautiful reflection for everyone I love it and it is so honouring to read and feel the love we are inside given the space to be felt and expressed so beautifully. I feel very much inspired to sit with myself and honour a meal for me in stillness and reflection and feel the real beauty joy and expansiveness with this myself and with everything i do.Thank you for sharing this awesome inspiration and grace.
Johanna what stands out is how much you enjoyed and appreciated time with yourself, time being you. It’s made me reflect that many years ago I would avoid any time by myself – the thought of eating alone or just having time alone was enough to send me into a panic. Yet what quality of person was I brining to all the things I did or the breakfasts I had if i didn’t want to be on my own? With the treatments, sessions and healing that is part of my life since Universal Medicine, I now find I actually really enjoy time to myself to reflect and simply be. Rather than avoiding time to myself I start to treasure it and whats great is if I don’t feel comfortable or want this time then I have a great reflection that something about the way I’ve been living is not true or that I am avoiding feeling things.
What you describe makes it clear that I still have a way to go before I could so completely enjoy my own company with all these people around and not be distracted by any thoughts of missing out on something, whatever that might be. It sounds absolutely delicious though, definitely something to look forward to.
Awesome sharing – I have just left school and i am adjusting to not seeing my friends very often, and feeling lonely – i have been feeling the pull to do what you have described – instead of seeking others company, work on enjoying just being with myself, so that when I am with others, its not from a need to not be lonely.
Hi Rebecca! I experienced this too when I left school. I realised how much my ‘identity’ at school was giving me my sense of me. And when I finished I was shocked at the lack of relationship I had developed with myself. It has been a lot of fun bringing self-loving things and learning to love myself again like when I was 3.
This is such a great comment Rebecca – enjoying me being with me. Often when I have been with myself I have felt self loathing for not being good enough to have people around me. Its the belief that if you are alone there is something wrong with you. Now I can choose to cherish myself when I am with me. I look forward to my time being with me, and getting to once again know the quality of god that I bring.
Wow Johanna, I can really feel how gorgeous and claimed you are in your description of your breakfast experience. No drive or need to be anything for anyone else in that moment, feeling complete and full in yourself. So beautiful, and very inspiring.
Loving ourselves in every moment and appreciating each smallest gift we get will make us feel how marvellous and magical all is working out and unfolding without us needing to put effort into it or struggle to achieve something. This is the immensely supportive setting in which we will steadily take new steps to grow and be more of ourselves.
I too can relate to how this has changed for you overtime. I would have once felt very uncomfortable and self conscious about eating out on my own, however now I love it.
Johanna, what a beautiful blessing you offered to all your fellow breakfast diners that morning, through you being totally present with you, on what feels like a truly magical breakfast date with yourself.
Next time I’m obliged to stay away by myself I’ll recall your breakfast date, Johanna, because up to now I’ve always been speed dating – and interrupting myself at the same time. But I also get a huge reflection of how you were living on your holiday – what a foundation on which to build! I’ll take that with me as well and leave behind my inevitable anxiousness as to what to do next and when and how.
Very inspiring Johanna…I can relate to your past experiences although there were also times when I was quite ok sitting in a cafe on my own, however the difference now is that I have a deeper connection to who I am, and the steadiness of this brings an inner confidence.
I also like the way you were not attached to having your partner with you, and felt complete as the woman you are.
Now thats what I call a selfie!
Reading this blog I felt like I was there enjoying the same experience with myself, how utterly divine to have had this time and experience with yourself. There is so much to gain in appreciating just being in the moment connected to yourself and feeling the completeness in this relationship
What a joy to start my day reading your beautiful blog Johanna! To read the exact description how you appreciated and enjoyed every detail of you and going to have breakfast with you-very inspirational! To give ourselves the permission to hold this amazing connection and joy with ourselves and to reflect this to others, wow!
These are wonderful dates to have, where you are so relaxed and comfortable with yourself that what ever it is you are doing it is simply gorgeous. I know that years ago I would have played out I was cool going for a meal on my own but the hardness that I would go into to counteract the insecurity was extraordinary. Bit by bit I have connected to my tenderness with the support of Univeral Medicine and the joy of being by myself is getting stronger and stronger.
This is exactly what I have found that goes on for me as well Natalie, when I’m alone the hardness that I pull in is crazy. Saying I’m okay being alone is all part of the act of hardness.
Well exposed Natalie! There is a difference between Hardness, a false confidence ( which is just protection) and feeling vulnerable, and the true self confidence that comes from being with our body.
I love your breakfast date with yourself here Johanna. It’s the attention to detail that you describe, as I am understanding how everything is important ; how you sat, how you drank, how you moved, how you were feeling, how you walked, it all makes up the bigger picture to reflect out from you. I had been feeling good, and then plateaued, I appreciated it but went stagnant, so it didn’t grow. Honouring what we are feeling all the time feels so important for our development, to continue our growth as it builds.
I remember my travels from long time ago, where I used to read a book (or a travel guide) while eating alone. I could not just be with myself and have dinner. Now that I am living on my own again since some months, I am spending more time on my own and with myself which is beautiful. Reading this blog it inspires me to deepen these moments and for instance, when having dinner, to really take the time, sit at my table, not get distracted and just have dinner. Really being on a date with myself and with that, with god as well.
How beautiful it feels Mariette when we no longer have that need for distraction and instead choose to be with ourselves. I love the way that you express that you are also having a date with god – how awesome when we stop to feel God’s presence in our lives.
I love this Mariette, – a date with God – so very true!
What a beautiful transformation you have made Johanna. It is so confirming to fully enjoy one’s own company, requiring nothing else to feel and be fulfilled.
Johanna, I know the points of the list where you felt uncomfortable with yourself sitting in the restaurant. I never enjoyed this and as such couldn’t enjoy my meals in former days. It is a great confirmation about you being much more you now not having this awkward feeling but enjoying being with you.
I have to add something 🙂 These days I realize how important it is to take time for eating – to prepare the meal lovingly, to honor the delicious food I’m going to eat, to honor the time with me and the people around me. Eating itself can be just a healing session – awesome.
I can relate to This Johanna, about a year ago I went to Bali on my own for a family wedding. I found a lovely place that did amazing gluten and dairy food and I went there on my own at least once a day for a week. With no distractions and the most glorious tasting, very healthy food I was able to appreciate each mouthful like I had never done before. It was great to be able to appreciate food and my own company in such a way.
Along with the delicacy I feel as I read your writing, Johanna, I also get a huge sense of the grace that your date with yourself bestowed on all those around you. Your freedom from the list you gave at the end (a list that most everyone, if honest, can identify with) presents an invitation to choose this for ourselves, and afford ourselves the space to be touched by these qualities in others. Thank you.
Thank you Johanna, for here you speak of the true food of life, our true nourishment, the most effective diet we can choose to be on……connection with our own yumminess! Dine at this table and never feel hungry, always full and complete and able to share true sustenance with all.
What a gorgeous way to celebrate your loveliness Johanna.
hi Johanna, I had a lunch date with myself the other day and it felt very lovely just enjoying what I had made for myself and being in my own company. It reminded me of this blog.