Love others but love yourself More....

Love - the primal and pivotal force of life to move things, people and destinies.

Many of us have a lot of people around us - friends, family, spouse, children, cousins, extended families etc. Do we understand the core fundamental of such relations and associations around us in our life? What makes them thrive and sustain them all? It is Self-Love.

"There's no time for me, to have tea, sitting on the balcony"

"If they are happy, I will be happy"

"If my boss is satisfied, my life will be great"

"If I oblige to the traditions followed, I will be accepted in the community"

Why do we impose so much on others and for that matter ourselves? Why do we put ourselves to be taken advantage of? It is because, we place a higher value to the person outside us than the one inside. We put others on a pedestal, and they become so important that we forget - we are living our own lives too.

"Everyone is YOU PUSHED OUT of yourselves"

We often come across people with different characteristics - some make us happy, some sad, some annoyed and some make us curious. We never realize or we do it too late that - we are mirrors of each other. Every single soul we meet has got some purpose, some reason or a season to be around us. They all serve a purpose; they all are meant to teach us something about the world and most importantly - about ourselves.

We all have come across such people, who have impacted us in some way - good or bad. If good, we are meant to carry the lessons with us forward in our lives, but if it is bad, again we are learning some lessons to unlearn and relearn about ourselves. Gratitude goes a long way when we meet these people, who push us to be our best selves. They are the ones who criticize you, who give you hard times, with whom you cannot have a peaceful time. They themselves are in their own journey to learn about themselves.

A person's behavior has nothing to do with you, but it has got something to do with yourselves.

Personally, I do believe in the cycles of life. 

There are people, with whom we fall out with - maybe in the past, present etc. These people are here to teach us some lessons, some realizations about ourselves and make us emotionally stronger in our own lives. Once we learn those lessons, we can make peace in ourselves, and we break a stagnant cycle.

There are people who look out for true love - these people need to realize that loving ourselves will attract the souls that love us. If we love ourselves unconditionally, accepting both the dark and bright sides, we will meet the ones who love us for our essence, they will accept us, support us and love us whole-heartedly. However, what needs to be understood is that, when such people come into our lives - do not push them away thinking that - it is too good to be true or we do not deserve such a soul in our life. We may take time building a connection, but the time is worth it. That person is actually a manifestation of ours gifted by the Universe. These can be but not limited to our friends, family, colleagues, soulmates etc. - anyone with whom you feel a sense of peace and serenity in the absence of words. This also teaches us the combination of true love and self-love.

The relation that we have with ourselves, determines the relations that we build with others. If our inner world is in turmoil, we might end up losing the valuable people in our lives. We all have our own eccentricities and madness - but we do need to realize, how much worth we put in for those who matter to us. It all begins with loving and accepting one-self. This self- love might also be seen as arrogance, stubbornness and pride, but this is the most important thing to nourish the world that we have in ourselves - Our Inner World. 

-Tanis