I remember back in the day when people spoke about
conceited people, they meant that the person loved themselves too much, and
this was not reflected in a positive light. It was taboo to talk about yourself
with such love and respect—it was heretical and blasphemous.
Fast forward a few decades and here we are: the world in a
state of emergency, finding it difficult to give love to ourselves, to love others
completely because we cannot and don’t know how to love ourselves properly.
For many of us, the act of loving ourselves may seem self
absorbed, selfish, or self centered. But, how can you love another fully and
completely if you can't even love yourself? Think of the airplane analogy: if
the oxygen masks drop, the course of action is to place the mask on yourself
before assisting others. Why? Because, if you aren’t caring for yourself first,
how can you effectively care for others?
Self love doesn’t mean you disregard everyone else’s needs
and only consider your own. Self love means to be true to yourself fully and completely.
Loving the self means being kind to yourself, and knowing when your needs are
being met or forgotten. It’s knowing that you need tender loving care; knowing
that taking care of yourself means being your own best friend. You are the only
one that is going to be with you for the rest of your life, you might as well
make it the best relationship possible. You have to accept you for you; and
love yourself for all your quirks, goof ups, lumps, and bumps.
Loving yourself is about accepting you for who you are,
and seeing that you are more than flesh and bone. Loving yourself is knowing
that you are going to make mistakes along the way and being ok with that. It’s
part of the journey, and the journey will never end.
How do you begin loving yourself? Start by looking
yourself in the mirror and saying I love you.
Write yourself a love letter. Make your new mantra ‘l love you, ----
insert your name here---‘. Give yourself some TLC.
Loving yourself requires dedication, balance, and unwavering
focus to accepting yourself fully and completely.
Sounds corny, but for many people this will be a very
difficult thing. For a while, you may not feel the love; rather, you may feel
the complete opposite. But, once you begin working through those old beliefs
and kicking them to the curb, you will find that the light will switch on
inside of you, and you will begin to understand the importance of self love.
When you love you, you become open to
loving others more fully and completely. When you love you, you begin to see through the loving eyes of the Universe. This
is the definition of true love.
