With Valentine's Day this past Sunday, many people have gone out of their way to express love and appreciation to their spouses and significant others. We all know that love comes in many different shapes: holding the door open for somebody, buying them them flowers, being there to listen and saying "I love you" at every moment possible. We also know that there are different kinds of love, too. There is brotherly love, romantic love, unconditional love and friendship; yet, we tend to forget the one kind of love that should matter most to every single person on this planet: self-love.
Self-love is the most important love that one should hold like a youthful puppy, yet we constantly treat ourselves as if we are empty boxes of cardboard. We have to find that special something to obtain fulfillment, or worst of all, we compare ourselves to standards that are nearly impossible to reach.
The world tells you this:
You "need" to have a body of a Victoria's Secret model to be "beautiful." You "need" to play like Michael Jordan to become "number one." You "need" to sing like Adele to have "talent."
We tend to look at ourselves and say "you suck" because we think that is what everyone else is saying about us. Once we find a small imperfection inside ourselves, we have this internal obligation to fix it as if it were a problem. Often, these so-called "imperfections" are things that are LITERALLY impossible to change because they are a part of who we are, and society tells us that if we are not in this one mold, we are not perfect. News flash, people: Perfection does not exist.
You should learn to embrace your imperfections and differences because that's what makes "you" you! Who gives a hoot that you're "fat," "weak," or are outside of the "norm"? Self-love is one of the hardest things in human nature, but we can all do it and it takes time. I used to struggle a lot with self-love in my past, and I have learned to cope with my imperfections and understand that they are there to make me into who I am. There was a time in my life when I was so ashamed of my true self that I thought I had to walk, talk, and dress a certain way to have friends and even go on dates with girls. I wore a mask that was nowhere near to who I am. I learned that it was not the truth whatsoever. I learned to love and appreciate myself eventually; to cherish my differences and imperfections because that is what makes me handsome. I still struggle, but hey, we all do. The next time you walk in front of the mirror, take a good look at yourself. Look at those pimples, muffin-top, or whatever you think is "wrong" with you, and say, "Hey beautiful."
I want to leave you with these two phrases to let you reflect:
"Today you are you, and that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you!" - Dr. Seuss
"You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." - Song of Solomon 4:7 NIV
