Love yourself – do you?

“Worry about loving yourself instead of loving the idea of other people loving you.” (Unknown)

Serendipity makes me feel special.

As I was looking for a positive quote for the week, this was the second one I read.

Truth makes me humble.

I bow down my head as the quote has hit the target: my gut.

It is true. I worry too much about other people. Will they think I’m weird if I do this? Will they accept me more if I force myself to be social? Will they like me if I agree with them?

I realised the other day that I have this basic belief that people simply cannot like who I am. I feel I have to change something in return for their acceptance.

It’s very dangerous to think this way. (I hope you don’t.) Because with that thought I make everything that exists only in me, worthless. Every unique thought, trait, quirkiness, even my love is degraded to insignificance.

I can bring you, of course, a number of examples, big ones, life-shaping ones, as to why I started to think this way. You might even be convinced that I was right to make this belief mine.

But it doesn’t matter. The past is gone.

What I do now is my decision. This moment was not altered by anyone else. The past is not here, only in my head. How much of it, what part of it do I bring into the moment is not the past’s decision. It’s not anyone else’s decision either, only mine.

What will I do with it? Will I give love to myself or will I continue with the fear of acceptance?

What will you do with this moment, empty and clear? How will you fill it?