Love: Why You Should
Love Yourself
Love thy neighbor
like thy self. Love your neighbor like yourself.
Indeed, it is always
unwise to pick a fight with one's neighbor. One would
rather keep peace at
home. And to guarantee peace in one's neighborhood,
the safest way is to
love thy neighbor like thy self. You may be wondering
who is your
neighbor?
Is my neighbor the
family next door or down the road?
Why should I love my
neighbor like myself?
Do I love myself at
the first place?
How do I love
myself? Is loving oneself means one is selfish or egocentric?
And most
importantly, why should I love myself?
Before we continue
let's define who is our neighbor. Our neighbor is not only those
who live on the same street like us or those that we know but any
other human being. This includes strangers,
foreigners, people
from different background, religion, ethnic, tribe or race and the
people that are familiar to us. Those are our neighbors.
However, before one
can love one's neighbor like oneself one must first love oneself.
If one does not love
oneself, one can not love one's neighbor like oneself. Similarly,
one have
enough in order to
give. Therefore, if one does not have, one can not give.
Do you love yourself
like you love your love ones?
Do you love yourself
like you love your best friends?
Or do you neglect
yourself more than anybody else on the face of the earth?
Do you treat
yourself with respect, dignity and love?
When was the last
time, you congratulate yourself?
Tell me the most
recent occasion when you thank yourself?
Do always wash your
tea cup before pouring fresh tea inside it?
How would you feel
if someone offers you tea in a dirty cup?
Do you always spend
less on yourself?
Would another person
appreciate the way you treat yourself?
When was the last
time you lie to yourself?
Are you using
yourself like a machine without rest?
Do you always take
good rest when needed?
When will you stop
treating yourself like a piece of garbage?
At lastly, how would
you feel if you always treat yourself like a VIP?
Truly, most people
treat themselves less than they would treat others in
many ways. In fact
this is a big error because one is more likely to be treated
by others the same
way they treat themselves. I know this may be difficult
for many to accept
but it is happening all the time. To put it bluntly, one can
not expect others to
treat oneself with respect if one does not show a minimum
respect to oneself.
The love of oneself is the beginning of love but also the foundation
of love. It is by
mistake that they say love thy neighbor like thy self. The love of
oneself
is not being selfish
but it is more about building a strong foundation or being first the
source
of love.
Would you promise me
that as from today, you will make sure you give yourself the very
best and more
importantly continue to show yourself more respect, dignity and love.
Be honest with
yourself first then you will learn how to be honest with others.
Do not lie or make
false promises to yourself. That would be unfair and be ready to
forgive
yourself. Be the
first to congratulate and thank yourself and always look at yourself
with
high regards without
being arrogant or egocentric.
As one begins to
love oneself more and more, one will have enough love for others.
