I love my husband, my children, my little boy doggie, my friends, family members ... the list goes on. I've always loved people, always loved to help, always was able to put myself into their moccasins.
Jesus Christ said, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
I don't think enough people do that - love themselves. If you don't love yourself, it is hard to have genuine love for others. I have to take care of me, so I can help those I care about.
My daughter has worked with the elderly as they spent their finals years, months, weeks, days in nursing facilities. She loves these people, the lives they've lived and the stories they've shared. She's been with them when they took their final breath and went into the next step, whatever that meant for them. These passages have touched her so deeply she has decided to go into hospice work and is training as a chaplain in that field.
Some days, it is hard. There have been times in the past where loving herself was difficult. Those are the days it is difficult to serve.
Some days are tough, harder than others. It seems like there is so much vitriol and hatred. Sure, you can radically change a landscape with a blaze, or a bulldozer, but the most radical
That is what love should do. We should love ourselves so that we can love others. When we love ourselves we will more naturally look at others with kind eyes, not suspicious ones. When we love ourselves not only do we put our best forward, we gently encourage others to do so as well.
Loving myself (ourselves) isn't always easy. We are so inside our own heads and know all the things, little and big, that we've done and that have hurt others, intentionally or not. We are capable of heaping so much guilt on ourselves that we start an insidious voice inside our head that tells us we aren't good enough, that questions our every motive, that reminds us we don't have what it takes and we will just fail all over again.
Rubbish.
I love myself. I forgive myself. I forgive others. I am a good person, doing the best I can. I do what is within my power to not hurt/harm others. Some days I do better at that than others, but I keep trying, keep forgiving myself because I love myself.
We are so good at telling ourselves lies. Why do we do that? I think because somewhere along the line we missed the message of unconditional love. Somebody wanted something from us in order for us to receive that love or we felt we would never be able to meet some standard we didn't own and didn't understand.
I love myself!
Tell yourself that any time your mind starts to do down a dark path. I love myself. I am good enough. I am me and that is just fine. I love myself!
When we love ourselves, it is so much easier to love others, to be open to people and welcome them into our lives.
When we love ourselves, we take care of ourselves. We exercise, we eat better, we embrace our uniqueness. When we can do this for ourselves and not feel guilty about it, then we can share our lives and love openly with other people.
There are bad days. We run into something truly ugly. Perhaps it is a wounded person who spews venom because they've never been taught they are worthy and lovable and that it is okay that they love themselves first. Maybe the mental record of our failures decides to begin playing its scratchy cacophony over and over.
We need to remember when the dark closes in that we love ourselves.
Say it to yourself with enthusiasm and conviction. I. LOVE. MYSELF! Tell yourself this over and over until it replaces that old faulty record in your mind. Tell yourself this over and over until YOU believe it. Say it ten times, fifty times, a hundred times a day. Say it every time something threatens to overwhelm you with its negativity.
For me to love my neighbor as myself, I need to love myself.
Say it with me: I LOVE MYSELF!