My Own True Love

Even though the calendar says Wednesday, it is my Tuesday! I stayed home Monday. I just didn't feel good! I had slept through the weekend and thought that would let my body heal itself. One thing about aging, you don't seem to bounce back as fast as you used to! The 24 hour flu can take me 4 - 5 days to recover! Enough belly-aching! LOL.

Lately, my thoughts have been on loving and respecting myself. I have usually sought for acceptance through others. If everyone else loves it, I love it. If everyone else accepts is, I accept it. If I am receiving praise from others, I must be doing well. My self esteem was based mostly on outside influences. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I realized that others only love and cherish me to the extent that I love and cherish myself. What a shocker! Luckily, I have been surrounded by mostly good people who look for the good in others. I appreciate their love and support, but always wondered why I was never put first in their lives. Well, to begin with, I was never first in my life. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in service and giving, but there gets to be a time when you have nothing to give, and wonder what happened! In the spirit of Stephen Covey, if your saw isn't sharp, you're not a very useful tool! But using the same analogy, what good is a sharp saw, if it is just sitting in the shed! There is balance!
I have been trying to be perfect to be accepted, and when I fall short, I go for the sympathy. This is so self destructive! When you go for the 'poor me' method, you bring yourself below your potential. The sympathy card may get you a hand out or a pat on the head, but in the long run, you haven't gained anything until you pull yourself up and work through your challenges.
This is where the self worth begins. I heard someone say, "Do something hard, everyday, and see what happens." This person chose to take a cold shower to 'toughen' him up. Hey, whatever works!
I LOVE and appreciate my sweet angel, Julia, who sent me the story of finding your own true love. She said she found out that her true love was herself. What a perfect love story! I found the same. As I love myself, so do others, just as deeply and perfectly as I love myself. And it works the other way, too. The more I love and appreciate myself, the more I see the beauty and miracle in others. What a GREAT discovery!

Isn't she a angel?