What Does it mean to Love Yourself?

Self-compassion is a willingness to look at your own mistakes & shortcomings with kindness & understanding ~ it’s embracing the fact that to err is indeed human. 

Loving yourself does not mean vanity, self-centeredness, or egotistical actions. When we really take a moment to feel love for ourselves, this is more of a serperation of ego and spirit, than it is engaging the ego. 

For anyone who is not familiar with the concept of ego, it is simply the neurological personality - it is what you identify with in this life. It is your strengths, your weaknesses, your dreams, your fears. It is the the way you react to events because of your history. It is the voice in most of our heads, telling us what to do and how to do it and evaluating each & every experience that we encounter. 

PHEW. That kind of perspective gets tiring.

I used to believe that my ego was my worst enemy. I had a hard time living with it, and did a lot in order to suppress it's voice. I learned in time that my ego was my friend, as long as I was consistently staying in touch with my heart, and taking the time each day to nurture that essential part of my nature. 

It is all about striking a balance. Ignoring your heart is no way to live- and at the same time, denying your ego is no way to live, either. I have learned that each of these aspects can live harmoniously in balance, when we are willing to really look at ourselves, our  values, and what we aspire to be in this world. There is so much more to you than the battle that we often feel inside.

♥ She is doing her best, she is trying. She has been given this life & she is taking it day by day. Maybe she has made mistakes, maybe she has hurt some people on the way. Maybe she has been hurt. But you know what? She is getting there. ♥

I promise that with practice and willingness, it gets easier and easier to love yourself. And I can't argue with Lucille Ball when she says - When you love yourself first, everything else falls into line. Everything...

xx Alana