As with most aspects of our lives, being in a place of heart-centeredness is usually the best approach. If you are in a place of darkness, depression, anger, and so on, it's difficult to navigate life and make good choices. Let me be clear, I am a firm believer in having boundaries and not everyone deserves your love. It's ok and often necessary to move on and remove toxic people and situations from your life. However, you can actually let go, move on, forgive, etc. from a place of heart-centeredness. Simply stated, heart-centeredness is when we are in alignment with our true selves and have peace in our heart. This is better done when one has had some time to heal or has had some distance from the situation.

As recreation and activity professionals, we see how residents, family members and friends interact. Perhaps it's not our area of expertise to offer relationship advice, but we can be supportive and offer healthy ways for the residents to be in touch with what I call "the heart space". That's when we move out of our thinking minds (ego) and enter the area of the heart (love). Is this easy? No. But since words and our own thoughts are so powerful, we can change our energy and how we feel by changing how we think. Affirmations are one way to do this and something you, as an Activity Professional could do with the residents.

Often times an affirmation, also known as an intention, is spoken out loud, to oneself, and/or written on a piece of paper. You may place the affirmations near your bed as a reminder to say them before going to sleep, or upon waking. You may also place them on your mirror, in a special pouch, in your car, or tape onto a glass of water. Be creative and use your inner guidance. The residents would also greatly benefit from stating positive affirmations.

Remember, affirmations are very personal and must always be stated with belief, pure intentions, and for the good of all. Here are some great love affirmations. Use these and then build upon them to make them more personal.