Part 3: Continuing to explore a deep, complex and beautiful question... within.
What does the word LOVE mean to you?
Self-Love.
So Simple and yet very complicated. Do we love ourselves? And if so - when - do we love ourselves physically, do we love ourselves when we have done something important, when we feel we have achieved something? Do we love ourselves when we are validated by others? Do we love ourselves when we have enough likes and followers for feel socially accepted on that day? Do we love ourselves when we are alone, when we are not doing anything spectacular or exciting, do we LOVE ourselves with no makeup, with body hair, naked, vulnerable. Do we love ourselves when we are afraid, or jealous, shaming, blaming, feeling like we’ve failed or are unworthy or doing an ugly cry over a movie we don’t even like with a takeaway - do we love ourselves then...?
Do we love ourselves in our worst moments, when we are broken, wounded or not functioning? Is it possible to still look in the mirror, right into the black universe of our eyes and say:
“I still love you.”
This is the type of love that we are encouraged to show others - to support them in their lowest moments. We seem to find it harder to find compassion for ourselves than we do for others.
What is self-love then? As hard as it is sometimes to believe, we all have the potential to Love ourselves. It doesn’t happen immediately and the journey is a long one - usually life long - a mixture of surrender, acceptance, non-judgement, forgiveness, respect, care and kindness.
Love is expansive. When we find the love within ourselves and start to live in that love, practicing forgiving ourselves first so we are better at forgiving others. Practicing not judging ourselves so we are better at accepting and having a deeper understanding of others.
(The list really does go on and will be continued in a separate text.)
There is no perfect, one size fits all guidebook with the steps and the way to cultivating this inner-love, for building a relationship with who we are and transforming our pain and challenges into wisdom, lessons and gifts through the lens of Love.
The journey to remove all the walls, wounds, fears, defences, blocks, boobie traps and obstacles we have gathered to obstruct and evade loving or being loved, is the powerful journey to knowing who we are and what love means TO us, IN us.
Love is Reflective, when we clear these blockages in our selves and open courageously to accepting and loving who we are from one moment to the next, the river of love can flow more smoothly and abundantly into us, and through us. One thing that we can all be sure of is that there is no limits when it comes to love. Love wants to be experienced, it wants us to revel in it, feel it, share it, be it!
Searching to find that source of love within opens us up to reflect it outside, to our environment, to All.
Could you LOVE ALL as YOURSELF..?
Read Part 4 to find out....
& You're invited to Join our Workshop Series to have the opportunity to dive deeper into this beautiful subject!