Love Yourself
Posted on June 11, 2014 by Dr Dionne Mahaffey, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.
Charity begins at home; the same can be said about love as well. Start with YOU!
Love is an irresistible emotion and an unconquered passion for an object in life, be it tangible or superficial, materialistic or ephemeral. There is none amongst us that has not tasted the elixir of love in life in some form or the other. But not many would have actually understood the essence of love owing to which we live in a society steeped in marred relationships and contradicting its own existence. As they say, charity begins at home; the same can be said about love as well. While we talk about love in various ways like Love for God, Love for Nation, Love for Parents, Love for Spouse, Love for Children or Love for Friends, Neighbors and Mankind at large, it would all be incomplete without the Love of Self.
Mankind has been bestowed with the faculties of imagination and intellectual wisdom to decipher the correct way of life yet we often fail to appreciate the essence of love in its subtlety and entirety because we do not look inwards as the natural tendency is rather to look outwards to objects other than us. This causes a lot amongst us to miss out on the blessings of life and cherish the value of true love in the right spirit. Hence the ideal way to come out of this circle of uncertainty is to begin the charity at home by understanding oneself, one’s needs and wants, desires and aspirations and pay due attention to it at the right time. Every human being is unique and possesses at least one attribute or trait, if not more, which can be considered as a hallmark of that individual or personality. There is bound to be diversity in the human society in terms of culture, tradition, race, ethnicity, climate, food habits and preferences as the human society has seen various civilizations, dynasties and schools of thought which have molded human thoughts, beliefs, values, emotions and perceptions. A majority of us gets affected by others views and perception about us and gets defensive and jittery when some criticism is hurled. But the one who has knowledge of self and has awareness about self-potential remains unaffected by any negative perception that any other individual might hold. There is a famous maxim which states “True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher”. One should take a leaf out if this book and engage self in constructive thoughts and optimistic vision. The focus should be on one’s distinguishing qualities with a positive outlook towards those areas of opportunities which can be improved and worked upon.
It’s easier said than done when it comes to being oblivious to your surroundings especially when the bone of contention is talk surrounding you but that’s when the test of character is adjudged. One must not be perturbed by circumstances or situations surrounding as there is no control over someone else’s thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Equally true is the fact that a lot of people try to measure one’s success by comparing it with others. Often even this comparison is with someone in a better position either financially, socially or perceived to be enjoying a better quality of life. What we must understand is that there are various aspects of life and we tend to ignore the bounties that we are already blessed with and always look for greener pastures elsewhere notwithstanding the other side of the coin which may be perceived to be better but in reality has a different tangent to it with a lot of strings attached. We should respect ourselves by being more generous in our thoughts about self. We need to respect ourselves by taking care of our body, mind and spirit. Any ailment to the body has a spiraling effect on our mind which directly impacts our spirits. Once we take care of our body by proper grooming and paying due diligence to its requirements we are all set for the next goal which is to take care of our mind. As John Milton says in Paradise lost “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven”. So watching one’s thoughts and regulating it so that it does not live an unbridled existence is the key. One should remain modest and stay calm in both joy and disappointment to bask in the glory of love and life. In a famous poem named “If” Rudyard Kipling ascertains this fact “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same”. After attaining this stage of wisdom one is ready to strive in the path intellectual wisdom, rationality and revelation which in turn boost the spirits and helps in self-actualization. As a matter of fact the fulfillment of this requires sheer grit, resilience, fortitude and determination and cannot be possible without self-knowledge which facilitates self-control and accentuates the realization of Self Love. Hence we must take pride in our own uniqueness and celebrate love of self by being more generous in our thoughts towards ourselves, our feats and milestones and our identity.
