What comes first?

The commitment to love ourselves may be a decision we only need to make once, but we may need to take frequent action to implement that choice. It’s so easy to fall into that place of not loving and accepting ourselves. But it can, in time, become just as easy to decide to return to the loving place. We may need to do it from hour to hour, or daily, or weekly, or whenever we begin a new part of our journey, especially a part that frightens or challenges us. 

However often we need to do it, we can return to that place of self-love. Each time we do it, it becomes easier. Each time we do it, we see the rewards of self-love: enhanced creativity, clearer decisions, greater well-being, and a more fulfilling connection to the world around us. 

 
When we love ourselves, it becomes easier to see and correct our mistakes, to see and admit our wrongs, to see and share our deepest feelings, and to love others unconditionally and without judgement. Our spirit dances and thrives. Self-love energises us. It attracts more love.  

And The Universe responds directly and immediately to our choice to love ourselves. 

See and accept yourself. See and love yourself just as you are. Your finest work, your best moments, your joy, peace, and healing come when you love yourself. You give a great gift to the world when you do that. You give others permission to do the same: to see truly and love themselves. 

Do more than just tolerate, endure, or put up with yourself. Love yourself. 

There came a time, quite recently in my life, when I simply could no longer put up with putting up with myself. I had talked about self-love. I had said out loud that I love myself. The words were good, but they didn’t ring true. I had to actually begin experiencing and practicing love for myself. It became the next step on my path. For me, I had to really do the inner work to subtly sense and feel and ultimately see that I was just pretending (and why). And so, I need to be vigilant as I can fall back into that place of unacceptance quite quickly. 

I see many people stuck in the saying and the thinking. The convincing. Even doing self-love. But still unable to get into being self-love. They believe it’s an intellectual endeavour. They read the book and they are done, move on, what’s next?  

They don’t want to, or know how to, do the work. To truly let go. To really see, accept, and lay down all the self-judgements, the endless personal microaggression, all the worn-out excuses, the inherited and generational trauma and false beliefs. When you really can do this, when you can be love, you can see things so clearly. You can see why everyone is the way they are, why your situation is the way it is, why your relationships are the way they are, the way the world is, and you will find you are at peace with it all. You don’t judge. You see.  

Imagine that?! Peace of mind.  

If you want to live in a magical way, one in which you connect with the universe, loving yourself isn’t optional. It must come first. To hear the quiet voice of your heart so you know when you’re being led, to hear your thoughts so you can see what you really believe, to trust and open your heart, you must first experience love for yourself. 

Have you abandoned yourself? Let yourself see if that’s true, feel if that’s true. Then learn to experience love for yourself.  

Learn to see and love the way you handle things. See and love your unique way of learning and growing. Your preferences and biases. See and love where you’ve been, everywhere. See and love what you’ve done, everything. See and love where you are, and what you are doing now. All of it. Without judgement. 

See and love how you look, smell, and feel. See and love the colour of your eyes, the colour of your hair, your skin, and the radiance in your heart. See and love how you laugh, how you cry. See and love your mistakes and see and love all the good you’ve done.  

See and love it all.  

To stop being prejudiced and judging others, to connect healthily and wholeheartedly with others, you have to stop judging and connect healthily and wholeheartedly with yourself. 

See and love all of you. 

When will you see and love all of you? 

What purpose is to be fulfilled by depriving yourself of this?

—
Andrew.