San Francisco resident Jacqui Adams has embarked on a new mission of practicing radical self-love, and has been late to all coffee dates, dinner plans, and brunch outings ever since.
Her journey toward ecstatic well-being began when the part-time social media manager realized she didn’t fully love her body just moments before she was to meet a friend, Sasha, for lunch, and wasn’t being her most authentic self. “That was when I realized that I could not leave the house until I listed 30 things I like about my body,” says Jacqui. “Number one: It gives great hugs!”
Sasha told us, “I wish there were a way for her to love herself without being a flaky, inconsiderate monster, but I’m glad she’s happy.”
Jacqui’s movement toward self-love has inspired friends and family to make changes in their lives as well, such as telling Jacqui that their their thing starts 15 minutes earlier than it actually does, if they’re going to bother inviting her at all.
Friend Lynn Friedman stopped inviting Jacqui to Sunday brunch after Jacqui texted her, “Gonna be like 15 minutes late! Trying to leave my inner critic at the door, but he is STUBBORN!”
“Our favorite brunch spot doesn’t seat people until everyone in the party is there, so we kept losing our reservation,” explains Lynn, who is a social worker for children with emotional disorders. “She also wouldn’t eat anything before announcing that her body was a loving vessel. I’m glad she’s happy and everything, but honestly, I just can’t with her.”
“One of the hardest things about finding your inner luminosity is letting go of toxic relationships,” says Jacqui, unbothered by a sudden loss of friendships. “I just don’t have the time or energy for people who expect me to show up somewhere at the time we previously agreed upon.”
Jacqui, who spends her evenings rubbing shea butter into her skin with intention, feels that her newfound life of inner kindness will only continue to inconvenience those around her.
“You have to learn to be accountable to yourself before you can be accountable to others,” Jacqui murmurs, from the lavender-scented bath in which she’s been soaking for over an hour as her roommate sprinted to the Starbucks across the street to pee. “And I’ve committed to not being accountable to a single person until then. It’s just what I need right now.”
