30 until 30: Affirmation 1- Love Thyself

Matthew 22: 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Today marks 30 days until I turn 30 years old. 

I'm not sure how I feel about this...This is the oldest I've ever been!!!

In all seriousness, changing the decade is usually met with trepidation, skepticism, and even fear. 

I cannot say that there is not somewhat of a mixture of all of these feelings I'm feeling. However, the majority of what I feel is excitement.

I fall deeper in love with this person known as Whitney Alese. 

And right there, I lost half of you. When you hear that someone loves themselves,  you may think that the person is being braggadocious. It means I think I'm the best of the best, the top, the only one who is good at anything. I'm so full of me, I would put Narsisis to shame.

But that is simply untrue. 

More over, none of that equates to real self love.

So what does loving yourself REALLY mean?

My Pastor describes being loving yourself as "being on the corner of your own awesome (the good, the great, the beautiful about you) and your own ugly (the dirty, the shameful, the lacking places) and sitting comfortably there. 

And that's the place I'm getting to. I can see all the good of me and I can stand all the bad of me while being comfortable with me and at the same time not being complacent with me. It means loving where I am and working for where I want to go all at the same time.

I can love me without devaluing anyone else. And in fact I do. It is definitely possible, and probably optimal, to love both you and others, to see the best in people while still being sober about the challenges we all face.  

In fact, the ability to love myself allows me to love others even more. If I can love me, if I can see fabulousness and flaws all wrapped into one being me and love it, I can definitely do it for others. 

Even better, loving others actually works in the opposite and helps me love myself. By opening my arms to the poor and extending my hands to the needy, by being present for a friend, by affirming my family and coworkers, by standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, it helps me to see the good in me. 

By seeing myself how God sees me, it helps me to love me.

So the first affirmation I'm taking with me into my 3rd decade of life is this: "Loving myself is vital to loving others. Loving others is vital to loving myself."