Love Thyself First

We have heard the quote love thyself. Most of us probably know someone who is really into themselves. I have noticed that these people are generally not well liked by people around them. They may be viewed as arrogant or stuck up. Upon closer examination, this viewpoint tends to originate from someone who lacks self love. People who lack self love often envy those who love themselves and find it difficult to love others. Years ago, a boyfriend thought I was becoming too attached to him for the wrong reason and he offered some helpful advice which I have never forgotten. He said "imagine that you are going to an important event. You are dressed in an exquisite dress and you are beautiful. You love the dress you have on. That is you single. Now imagine that I am an accessory such as a bracelet, pair of earrings, ring, hairpiece, etc. You are prepared to go to the party with no accessories and you love the way you look in the exquisite dress. Now choose me, your accessory. We look great together, but we also look great alone." He was emphasizing that I was not whole without him. I can now admit that I was using him to become whole, and thus, our relationship was doomed to fail. His point was, be whole without others. Then others can accompany you in life to accentuate the person you already are. If you hate the dress you are wearing to the party, there is no accessory that can make you love the dress. I have never forgotten this lesson! Since then, I have worked diligently to love myself. Believe it or not, you have to learn to love yourself first.

There were some important lessons I had to learn that I love to share:
● Make peace with your past and any painful memories.
● Recognize that can continually enjoy the present and make healthy decisions today.
● Be yourself! There is not another you and you are not someone else. BE YOU.
● Know that mistakes are good. Each setback is an opportunity to improve. Mistakes are the lessons that prepare us to optimize our potential.

Love presents itself on this journey called life. When you have reached a point in life where you can love self, you have awoken. How good is that? AWAKEN and be present- love self! Recognize and accept your uniqueness. Believe in the masterpiece you are. Stop the self criticism and negative thought patterns. Know that it is good to feel confidence and to feel the ability to be able to positively contribute to your environment. The world will tell you differently! The below photo is an ad run by Selective Search where executive search meets personal matchmaking. The idea is Selective Search can find the perfect match for highly discriminating men and women. Think...you are one of billions of people surrounded by people trying to weed you out and find reasons why you are not the perfect match. Loving self is paramount.

But you're probably thinking that there was more to the love thyself quote. Love thyself AND thy neighbor. I believe that those who are still working on loving themselves often struggle to love others. The negative thought patterns can infiltrate and take over. This inhibits our ability to stand on the solid ground/foundation that self love presents. Recognizing and accepting ourselves as we are is taking notice that we are not carbon copies of anything. We are each beautifully unique in our own regard. Love who you are and love who others are. JUST BE! Accept others and allow them to just BE.