The key word here is, of course, “100 percent.” Surprisingly or not, most of us don’t love ourselves that much.
Over the years I have come across messages related to loving yourself and all that. But, I was really convinced by this very question when I finished reading a Gay Hendricks book. It’s called Learning to Love Yourself. Gay is a professor of counseling psychology and a world-renowned author, as far as I’ve come to know.
Going back to the question. Why 100 percent is so important, you might ask. Let me share my way of understanding it. I’m using “we” to refer to each and every one of us (including me of course) to clarify points.
We carry an invisible bag of garbage, the “things” we don’t like, don’t want to talk about or even think about. It all relates to past experiences that go back even to our childhood days. It contains anger, hate, guilt, arguing, scolding, shame, discontent, mistrust, malice, and all those bad things. The problem is, this bag of stuff is getting bigger and bigger, and one day it’s going to haunt us in a big way.
We need to learn to love ourselves live. Accepting first and then loving as we are is the only way to free ourselves and give us peace inside and out. We have to deal with each of these feelings or hidden things one by one. Don’t suppress it like we usually do. Acknowledge it, bring it to light, experience it in your mind, feel and accept it, and love yourself even with it. It’s like shaking hands with these things and letting them go. In short, we love ourselves as a whole. It is healthy love, not selective love. I tried it and could feel the relief almost immediately.
Everything happens for a reason. The things we encounter, good or bad, help shape us. It is part of our growth. It completes us. Bad things may not be so bad after all if we learn and become wise.
Loving our enemy by beginning to love ourselves. When we break free by letting go of all that negativity and loving ourselves in a healthy way, our mind and heart are in congruence. We are at peace, calm and in harmony. We begin to see things differently. We appreciate life more.
If you like to contribute your thoughts, why don’t you write me? Thank you.