LOVE THYSELF FIRST

                                                                                  

Berenice Mulubah

 

Mark 12:31: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

To give love, you need to have love. To love you expect to receive from anyone, you should already have for yourself. Treat yourself as you which others to treat you.  

1. Be kind to yourself.

Don't be harsh to yourself.  You may have hurts, emotional pain, and shortcomings. Learn to accept yourself, shortcomings and all.  Focus on your many positive qualities. Focus on your strengths, your abilities, and your admirable traits. Let go of harsh judgments, comparisons to others, and self-hatred.
When you can see yourself as the soulful and divinely inspired person you are, the damaging internal dialogue doesn’t hold up.
Be gentle with yourself.

2. Feel the love within you and be that love.

You may experience both self-hatred and self-love. Spend more time focusing on self-love.
Try loving and positive affirmations. Nourish your soul through a love-kindness meditation or spiritual practices that help you feel compassion and love toward yourself.
Once you feel vibrations of self-love or the peace of positive affirmations, try to be in that place of love throughout your day.
Infuse this love with your interactions with others in your life.

3. Give yourself a break.

You’re not perfect. No one is. It’s normal to feel sadness and pain and to hit some low points in life.
Allow yourself to embrace these emotions without judging yourself for them.

4. Embrace yourself.

Are you content being alone by yourself without feelings of anxiety, fear, and judgment?
 Practice moments of alone time and be aware of how you treat yourself.
Learn to embrace solitude and allow yourself to be mindful of your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about yourself.

5. Be grateful.

“When you’re grateful for the things you have, no matter how small they may be, you will see those things instantly increase,” Byrne says.

You will immediately start loving yourself more when you realize all the things you’re grateful for in your life.

6. Give yourself in service to others.

When you think about kindness toward others and being love to others, you open the door to divine love.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ~Rabindranath Tagore
Yes, giving to others is a gift of love you can often give yourself which brings you more love.
When you’re being kind, considerate, compassionate, and giving of yourself, your soul will rejoice. You’ve reached the highest level of self-love in this state of serving others.
Find ways to do small and large tasks to assist those living in your house, neighborhood, or community. Practice conscious acts of kindness and giving.
The love you’re sharing with others in the form of service will help you feel more love and fulfillment in your life.
You’ll realize you don’t need someone else to feel complete any longer. You’re complete.
A relationship will only make you shine brighter and bring more love in your life.