After many years of spiritual and personal development and a lot of inner work, I finally have a sense of self love and inner peace. Not an easy journey but well worth it. Living in today’s complex world, I find it particularly helpful for ‘just being me’.
Amongst those of us who have freedom of choice, however, many people currently feel unable to comfortably express their individuality. Allowing themselves to be manipulated by the views and preferences of others, they seek happiness from factors outside of themselves, rather than being at peace with who they are as individuals and allowing themselves to blossom naturally.
Believing that they need to meet certain criteria in order to be accepted, they unwittingly relinquish control of certain aspects of their lives. Social media and peer pressure constantly encourage us to conform in various ways, for example, to change how our bodies look, influencing how we dress, speak, what we eat and how we spend our leisure time, many of which are very personal, subjective things.
Conversely, those of us who don’t agree with current trends, ideas and opinions overtly push against them, running the risk of being labelled old fashioned and out of touch. Whichever camp we reside in, could it be easier than we think to express ourselves from a place of love, choosing to accept ourselves and each other no matter what, rather than pointing out and taking issue with our differences and fearing how others might judge us?
Self Love
When a person possesses an ego-less sense of self love and accepts others just as they are, they emanate the energy of inner peace and strength that registers before their physical form is even noticed by others. Self love can be difficult for all sorts of reasons; it’s something most of us have to work at even if we aspire to attaining it.
I personally found this less of a challenge as I became more spiritually aware and less mindful of what others expected of me with regard to image and lifestyle. There was a gradual realisation that if I could accept myself just as I am and others just as they are, it would translate into ‘the outer reflecting the inner’, as the saying goes.
I admit that I’m still a work in progress. Yes, I still have days when I feel ‘visually less than good’ as I check myself in the mirror before leaving the house or answering a knock at my door. Yes, I sometimes disagree with what other people say or do. However, apart from momentary lapses (I am still human!), I no longer dwell on these things, allow them to make me unhappy, or rob me of my sense of inner peace.
I find celebrating my uniqueness very fulfilling. I express my individuality with confidence whenever appropriate, taking care not to blatantly disregard cultural sensitivities or adopt a cynical attitude.
Not needing someone else’s approval of how I look or how I prefer to live my life is very empowering and I cherish the freedom of choice my outlook brings.
Kathleen Judd
