How Do I Love Myself?

Hey Guys!

Happy #TruthThursday

 Do you ever feel as though you are drowning in the darkness? Or perhaps you aren't happy with something in your life and you really want to change it but you don't think you can, so you spend all the time being miserable and feeling unable to change your situation?

In the last few months, I have learnt a lot of things about myself and the fact that I have felt afraid to admit what I want to myself, not to speak of going for it. So I have lived in the shadow of other people's desires for me and in some instances, I assumed what other people wanted for me, even people that don't even know me. 

I know that I talk about fear a lot, but learning to let go of fear has been the most fundamental lesson I have learnt about myself this year and I can't tell you how freeing it is when you finally allow yourself to be free to begin to love yourself as you are this second. 

The other day, I said to myself, all this talk about loving self and not fearing anything, what does that even mean? Here are some things I was able to write down. If they don't make sense, give me a shout and we can talk some more :D

Q: How do I love myself?

A: Let's start from first principles and talk about what it means to not love yourself. You have learnt that what opposes love is fear. Remove all fear and then you have love. We will look at it practically.

Being in fear is to stand still in a room, cut off all air supply to that room and lock the doors. It is literally killing yourself. You can't move. You can't breathe. Essentially you are lifeless. The motions you make while struggling for air to breathe are desperate motions masked as attempts to change your situation, yet futile if they do not involve you stepping out of the room and walking into a breath of fresh air. In reality, people mistake this violent struggle as actions, not knowing that it only serves to hasten death, unless they step out of the fear and into the fresh, free and flowing air that is love.

Let's bring the example closer to home because you have been in this dark and airless room for some time now and we will compare it to your present state and efforts to finally heed to our call for love and eradication of fear.

For each moment that you have spent feeling angry, sad, frustrated, disgruntled, underappreciated and undervalued, how much time, in turn, have you spent thinking clearly and boldly about what you want out of life and what you have to do to get it?
If you are honest with yourself in answering this question, you will see what we are saying. Death is a lack of life. Without progress, change, growth, development, can you describe something as being alive?

This is the first lesson that we have taught you and we hope that after this experience, you will move on ahead with your eyes wide open and your nostrils breathing freely, in and out, the breath of love.

This is your new reality, that you know what you want and regardless of the weather, the people around you, the time of day or season of the year, you will tread the path to your desire. Confidently. In good health. With your eyes wide open and your ears listening for direction.

There is nothing constricting about life. Never forget that. Any constraint you may think you are experiencing is an illusion of the mind. Be aware and when you need to, call to God for help to have it removed. He is ALWAYS here to assist you.

There are no constraints in life.

Only the ones you put on yourself and that is fear, which is death.

You may wonder, "why are they going on and on about fear ?"

It is the most fundamental lesson you will ever learn- choosing love over fear. It should be clear to you by now that this is not something you should take lightly or play with.

So we say, remove the constraints. Step out of the airless room. Let yourself live, breathe and move forward and in doing so you begin to love yourself in ways that you have never done before.

By extension, in loving others, you support them in removing the constraints from their lives and showing them that fear is death. This is love, that you support another in loving himself or herself.
Think about this.

All the best,

Your Friends Within

So for anybody that is feeling trapped, reflect on this and open the door. No one else can do it for you. 

Love,

O.F.P