Please, please love yourself…

It’s taken me many years to truly understand what loving myself means. My path started at a small library fair in Seal Harbor, Maine several summers ago. While I was perusing the used books at the sale, Deepak Chopra’s The Path to Love jumped out and landed in my hands! One dollar later and the book was mine! It’s the best dollar I have ever spent because it led me down a very specific path, love! I’d never heard of this fellow but I devoured his book and immediately signed up for one of his wellness weekends in California. A little impulsive perhaps, but if anything I’d have a nice birthday weekend away; maybe I’d learn something new.

While at the wellness weekend, one of the speakers talked about loving yourself. (Huh, what’s that?!) The speaker asked, “Who thinks loving themselves means you are being selfish”? To my astonishment most hands went up, mine included. She continued to speak and convince me and others that it wasn’t selfish, and in fact it was necessary in order to be happy and to love others. Good news! But now I needed to know what the definition of love is. Is it words with no action? is it being all things to all people?

What I was able to deduce after many months of looking for the answer is that love takes many forms and my definition may not be the same as yours. I’ll share mine with you and perhaps we have the same outlook but I would still encourage you to seek your own thoughts about love. The two definitions that ring true to me are very simple.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

and Something Belle Hooks says (I’m paraphrasing here) in her book All About Love: Love is helping others (and yourself) to grow spiritually.

My intent is for an increase in love for us all and in all things may love rule!

With love, Ailsa