Loving Your Self Better! My 1st Love

By Xina Sy

Everyone that knows me, knows that I love being in LOVE! In my circle of sista-friends, I am the Love Queen! I am a hopeless romantic; caught up on all things mushy--walks in the park, public displays of affection, laying in bed all day on a Sunday with the right someBODY! I love all aspects of positive lovin' & after a long stint of singleness, am ready to love someBODY better...starting with my Self!

This past Valentine's Day I pulled my Self out of a self-imposed slumber & decided to write my Self a letter; just a brief reminder of how much I matter to ME! Self absorbed? Probably. But sometimes selfish is a good thing. And, anytime we take the time to fully love & value our Selves, then it is time well spent. So, tap...tap...tap went the pen on the paper & I had a brief moment of thinking maybe this concept was one best developed on my wi-fi book in a coffee shop in the middle of the West End of Atlanta--but I thought better of it & decided that pen to paper was the most romantic approach. Then, of course, writer's block set in & I wasn't quite sure what to say to my Self! Really.

There was this blank stationary staring up at me from the table top, mocking my inability to romance my Self. I sighed & waited for inspiration, but for the longest time...none came. This, I thought, needed to be meaningful. After all, it was to ME! I am a "writer." I am "creative!" I can do this! Thoughts became shouts & I started to feel like I should have just bought my Self one of those red-heart-boxes of candy & some sweet tarts & called it a day!

Then it happened! As easily & gently as the idea had come, I picked up the pen & wrote the words that my Self most needed to read: You Are Beautiful. & just like that...I was finished. That was enough. Those three words filled my heart with a warm glow of knowing & I was complete.

Everyday as women, we take care of everyBODY else often forgetting the most important of bodies...our Selves. Days, months, even years pass by & before we know it, we have become some unfinished project; pushing our own agendas to the very back burners, diminishing our own Self worth, & minimizing our own value & greatness. Slowly over time, the opinions of others drown out our own small, intuitive voice, until our own inner guidance is but a whisper barely to be heard. And, with this, we begin to second guess even the most obvious of idiocracy simply because we can no longer trust our Highest Selves.

It is imparative that we take the time out; just  few minutes a day, & remind our Selves of who we really are! It is wonderful to hear it from others, especially on holidays & anniversaries & Mother's Day & birthdays---but it is most valuable when it comes from the deepest, most respectful place within our Selves. And, yes, we can take selfish liberties & tell our Selves how beautiful & smart & sexy & funny & intelligent & creative & gifted & remarkable we are even when no one else does, because it truly means the most coming from our Self! Live BIG!