Nature's Self Love Lesson

Last week we established that in order to better love others and serve the world, we must start by loving ourselves more. This week I want to delve into the underlying cause of lack of self love in the first place. So I've turned to Nature for help to answer this question...

Nature has a tendency to produce moments of inspiration and awe. Think back to a sunset you've witnessed or another view that's taken your breath away. There are no perfectly straight lines or smooth edges in Nature; everything is raw and fully exposed. It's not perfect, but it's unapologetic and it doesn't hold back. It's in this authenticity that we find beauty. Its "flaws" never take away from its magnificence, it only adds to it.

In contrast, us humans try to hide certain aspects of our personality and looks that make us feel shame, guilt and fear. We selectively expose only good parts of ourselves and try to hide the rest. Why? Because we've bought into this delusion of "perfection" that we feel we need to achieve in order to be loved.

And as long as we feel the need to strive for perfection, we will always feel a sense of "lack", of not being good enough. We will try and fill the space with anything to make us feel worthy of love. That could be anything from alcohol and drugs to chasing money to co-dependant relationships. We will chase anything to numb the pain of not feeling good enough or give us some temporary validation.

We need to stop equating perfection with this fake mental image of who we should be. Instead we need to equate perfection with the authenticity of who we are. This is the way of the natural world and this is the first step towards cultivating self love.

Self love begins by resting in the truth of who we are. It's not feeling the need to hide any part of ourselves and understanding that there is beauty in every aspect of our being. It's letting go of that need for validation of our existence. It's believing that we are just as deserving of love as anyone else in this world. This acceptance makes us more patient and more forgiving towards ourselves when we make mistakes. In turn, it makes us equally compassionate and less judgemental towards others.

I didn't say it very well in the video, but this week I'd like for us to take some time to reflect on who we really are, not just what we expose to the world.

What are we most proud of and how can we share these more often with the world?

What parts are we hiding/denying and why? What are we scared will happen if we expose them? Can we learn to love/forgive these parts of ourselves?

This should give us an idea of where to begin directing more forgiveness and self love.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this week's topic!

Miri x