Why is it so difficult to love yourself?  We do all SORTS of things to make ourselves feel good, and in doing so we trick ourselves into believing that we actually do love ourselves.  We eat good foods, engage in physical activities we enjoy, listen to music, go to movies, play video games, look at beautiful sunsets, date and have relationships, go on vacations … in short, we devote our entire lifetime to doing things that make us feel good!  So how is it that we do not love ourselves?

The short answer is that all of those things are topical treatments to distract us from our lack of Self-Love.  The idea is that the more we can make ourselves FEEL good, the more we love ourselves … when in fact you are running as far and fast away from your True Self as you possibly can.

To truly love yourself, you have to stop distracting yourself.  You have to spend some time “indoors”, and actually get to know the amazingly beautiful and complex soul that lives within your body.  This is difficult because we have a lifetime of fears, shames, inner demons, painful memories, and so much more than you ever even imagined.  It can seem a little daunting … there is SO much to work through, and overcome … why take the time, when it is so much easier to just tune out and distract yourself with some form of pleasure for your body.

In a lot of ways, loving yourself is akin to maintaining your own inner garden.  You have to get rid of all of the things that don’t belong: the fears that strangle everything around them, the jealousies that catch fire and parch the land … you get my drift.  That is only the beginning though.  Once you have cleared those things out, then you have to start the process of Unearthing.  You have to dig deep into the soil of your Self.  Down below the surface are the real things that scare you and they must be removed if you are to beautify your Self.

So you dig deep and expel these inner demons, the serpents lurking in holes .  Now you can FINALLY go about creating a beautiful inner world … now you can finally begin the process of loving yourself.

That sounds pretty exhausting, doesn’t it?  Here’s the thing though, God is right there with us upon this journey.  It’s not you that has to do battle with those inner demons and paralyzing fears … God actually acts as your intercessor; the Knight that charges into the fray to slay the beasts.  All that is required on your part is to face your fears … you have to go about the tasks, instead of running away from your worst fears.  When you face them down, God will take care of the rest.

Once you have completed the Unearthing, you can plant a beautiful garden within … full of varieties of Love that bloom and take fruit in all sorts of manifestations.  That is when you truly start to LOVE yourself … this is almost as difficult at times as facing down all those demons.  You truly believe, deep down, that there are parts of you that are unlovable.

This is where we MUST rely on God yet again … we have to use God’s love for us as a mirror for ourselves.  We have to see ourselves the way that God sees us … as a transcendently beautiful Creation that God is quite literally In Love with.

Have you ever been with someone who was SO in love with you that they literally MADE you believe that you were lovable … that is the way God feels for you, and more … what’s more, God quite literally knows every single facet and aspect of you, not just your facade … and God is STILL in love with you.

When you can mirror God’s Love to yourself, then your cup literally will run over … spilling out Love and Healing into the world around you.  You won’t need all those distractions any more … because you are in a constant state of happiness and spiritual bliss.  It is no pipe dream … it is most definitely a reality … but there is a LOT of work to get to that place.

Never forget though, that God is with you … all along the way.

* My meditations today were on my prior post, “The Most Terrifying Thing“.

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!

There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.

By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

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