Love thyself even more

innocent love like that of a child

Reverence and adoration

Love has many faces: care, admiration, idolization and internalization to name a few. Love adds delight to your vocabulary and enchantment to your existence. When you love someone or something, you accept them for who they are and adore their existence. You look at them as special and treat them unique too. If at times you don't, you may desire your loved one to change; else you alter your perception of them. The net result is warmth and comfort in the presence of the loved object. And what when that loved object is you? How much do you even know yourself to value and like in yourself? And then, is there enough within you to merit adulation?

Indulgence and growth

Indulging in yourself is not love; it is indeed the worst form of self-destruction; a façade of self-leniency that rots the inner self and fails to facilitate furtherance. Building on skills is the best way to elevate self-respect. The world reveres those who deserve it; one needn’t blow one’s trumpet all the time. Slowly and steadily striving for betterment by cultivating positive qualities that we usually admire in others; is a positive leap towards loving yourself.

Comfort vs. Regard

Self-comfort is very different from self-respect. You have to accept yourself unconditionally yes, but you don't just accept the flaws and fail to better them.

We all have our comfort zones (a lazy out-pouching in our closet where we hide from reality), comfort food (pizza or ice cream or chocolate or cheese when we feel low), comfort clothing (wearing the restful night clothes on days we don't feel like showering all day because we’re lazy); these are all permissible; but are not an expression of love for the self. If you really loved yourself you would not merely seek comfort; you would attempt to face troubles and emerge as a stronger and more developed human being. Leniency and permissiveness are not love. Do things you find hard only to respect yourself more than ever before. Strive to impress yourself. And once you have done that, get enthralled by your own achievement.

Know what you do and why you’re doing it

Questioning oneself is the best method of personal appraisal. Some of these questions seem frustrating when asked by others; its best to ask them yourself and seek (and offer) fitting answers. After all you wouldn’t lie to yourself would you?

• Do I really like the way I dress?
• Am I comfortable with my job?
• Am I contented with how I look?
• Do I respect what I do for a living?
• Am I doing this because I like it?
• Am I happy in this relationship?
• Am I putting the best I can here?
• Is this my true and real existence?

One cannot be happy unless one is content with ones choices in the life one leads. With due regard to the perplexity of rebirth; we can typically presume that we live once. Living that one life unsatisfied and unfulfilled would be hypocrisy to oneself; an absolute disagreement to what we call love. Identify why you do what you do, how it does good to you and whether it’s worthwhile to continue doing it. Make the right choice for yourself.

Make your life better

Find things you like doing; things that of course are ethically and morally sound, and meet basic criteria for righteousness for yourself and those around you. Put yourself in situations that make you a calmer person. If works stresses you, change the way you deal with it or change your job. Little can be done to change the world; a lot can be put in to transform you. When you do the things you deemed yourself incapable of, you find intriguing ways to love and regard yourself even more…