I have been hearing and reading topics about self love. Honestly, I never really thought about it at all. I was taught as a child to “love your neighbor as yourself” which was from the Bible but never connected it to self love. The first thing that comes to mind is, I should be good to my neighbor and it just ends that way. I am not saying that we should concentrate on ourselves alone but loving ourselves will make us love others better.
This year, I saw Facebook friends post quotes and stories about self love. It was great reading those kinds of experiences because I got to nod my head and say, “] I totally agree!” Though after reading and being inspired, I told myself that it’s great but it’s hard. I learned from what I read but what totally blew me away was when my husband gave me a pep talk about self love. He said that it’s not wrong to love myself especially because of my condition(Bi Polar I) . I should take care of my health so that I can also take care of our child. If I have negative thoughts in my head, I should throw them away. I should keep my mind busy with positive things and stay strong. That made me all the more determined to try to love who I am. You see, loving one’s self is not for selfish gain, it is also for one’s mental health.
Days after I had an uplifting talk with my husband, I also got to talk about it to a close friend of mine. I told her about it and said that even if I already grew up to have a family of my own, I still have not thought much about self love. My friend told me that it is easy to say but really hard to do and that she almost always help out others first before thinking of herself. Like me, she hardly ever thinks about it but tries her best to learn how.
After the series of self love topics in the air, I thought of writing about it because I wanted to share that it’s alright to love one’s self. Also, it is very much connected to my own advocacy in life which is for people to gain mental health awareness. Self love is our road to selfless love.
Here is a list of self love tips you can try:
– Lipstick (Make yourself glow!)
– Exercise/Stretch (Make your muscles firm and your heart strong)
– Water (Drink Plenty!)
– Friends (Concentrate on the good ones but forgive the bad ones)
– Family (talk, eat, play, laugh)
– Our Lord Jesus (pray and meditate)
As the saying goes, it’s never too late. Take your time and try it out. We are never too old or too young to become our better selves.
Maui Pontevedra 