Unexamined life is not worth living

Let's talk about love

What is love to you? What does it mean? What can you say about it, anything at all?

 

This is a question I have asked a number of my friends today and am in awe of the answers I got. What was common among them was loving oneself. The idea that one cannot at all love others unless they love themselves. Actually, loving yourself for you and not for others. It is like a journey of self-discovery. The bottom line is to know yourself. Who you are. All your flaws and strengths. Looking them in the eye and accepting them for what they are.

 

Of course, one of the problem I encounter usually is not knowing how to accept myself. I readily accept other people but not myself. I find them it is easier that way. One reason for this is the obvious, I haven't learnt to love myself fully. I bet if I did, I would love all these people in my life wot better than I do now. 

 

One of the things I got to get myself realize is that I can't be like somebody else. And that is because I have tried it before. It never works. Ever! There is this girl I liked so much from a tv series I watched a lot when I was little, A.N.T Farm. I always wanted to have a voice like Anne's. like always to the point that I prayed, my eleven-year-old me was like, Dear Lord, please give me a voice like hers. I don’t like mine at all! 

 

It never happened. I wondered why but over the years I have come accept and love my voice as it is. If you want to listen to my singing, you can email me and you will listen to my beautiful voice. Looking back, am pretty sure the Lord was like, you are saying my creation is not good when I made it perfect? 

 

Insecurities are about what everyone seems to be battling with in this day and age. The social media just made it worse. It is as if the idea of being someone else is better that our own. It is pretty much easier to look at others and say, well, that’s it, there is what is worth living not this what I call my life. But that only brings one down. It only gets a person to get deeper into not appreciating all the awesomeness that you are and working on being an even much better person.

 

Cha-cha told me that for her, she had to learn to love herself as she is. Wholly. Accepting who she is and knowing that’s what she has for life. It liberated her and made her love and appreciate herself even more that now, when she sees someone or something amazing and beautiful, she doesn’t envy it or which she was it, she just appreciates them for how they are made and goes on living her life.

 

And then came another one that Tally, a tall friend of mine said. Sometimes you get to love and appreciate yourself more when you invest in yourself. Actually, look at the things you like to do and try to get better at them by doing all else you can. In time, you get to appreciate how far you have come and well, be proud of yourself and well you guessed it, love you more!

 

To me, love of self has always been about doing the things I love and playing. I won't say I love myself as much today, I would be lying. But listening to what people have to say about love and their lives is something that is already changing my perspective towards life itself. And one more point for now, they all pointed out that it takes time. It doesn't have to be rushed. It needs me sitting myself down and analyzing my life. Asking myself what I truly love and hate, my strengths and weaknesses and just what I want to do with myself.

 

 I loved hearing these answers. They sure shook me, I want to make it a point to ask as many people as possible about their thoughts on it and well, share them. I have come to realize that some people don’t know that others also go through similar things and there are ways out until they hear or read about them. So, to me, every person is an opportunity to learn something and to be a better person. It is an opportunity to show love and to love. 

 

So, tell me all about loving yourself. What is it like? What are the battles you face going through every day to get there? or if already there my friend, how did you get there?