Hello, my name is Bria Eaton and I am a second year DLabber at Lab 51. Going into this project, I kept my vision statement: Embodying peaceful acceptance of all beings, as my leading point. My artifact reflects that in order to be there for others, I need to be there for myself. When I accept who I am and my intentions, it creates a chain of acceptance to the people around me. I’ve always been a person who often puts others before myself and while sometimes it is a good thing, these last few months I’ve experienced the downfall of this. I wasn’t giving myself anytime to check in with myself or focus on me. With my mental health worsening, this created huge challenges and barriers I had never experienced before. One day I realized this - I spend the most amount of time with myself. Not only that, but I was giving the person I’m around the most the least amount of effort. I decided to begin to start treating myself as my best friend, rather than my biggest enemy. This switch made me realize I need to implement a consistent daily act of good, to make sure I am prioritizing myself at some point of the day. It felt really good to start this and the very first day I noticed a difference in my overall energy and mood. Not only that, but being there for others became an easier and more fulfilling time for me. I had already tended to my needs so I could focus on the people around me. Doing for good ourselves can ultimately create even more good for those around us.
