it is not easy to love oneself
why?
we have to give up all the labels we have struggled with for: “forever”
we have to redefine ourselves
we have to take courage to believe we are someone of worth
we have to strip ourselves of illusion
we have to find joy in who we are
we have to believe in ourselves
we have to trust ourselves
no one can do it for us
no one can tell us we are good
we have to do if for ourselves
we have to walk our life
we have to take the steps
the ultimate courage
to take responsibility for who we are
and allow ourselves to feel
to feel hurt
to feel joy
to feel pain
to feel lost
to feel want
to feel sorrow
to feel grief
to feel response
to feel wonder
to feel delight
to feel love
for
ourselves
no matter
the outcry of the masses
no matter
the distinction of a few
no matter
what anyone says to you
believe in you
you have worth
English: Projected density plot of a redshift z=2.5 dark matter halo from a cosmological N-body simulation. The visible part of the galaxy (not shown in the image) lies at the dense centre of the halo and has a diameter of roughly 20 kiloparsecs. There are also many satellite galaxies, each with its own subhalo which is visible as a region of high dark matter density in the image. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
you are okay the way you are
you are unique in all of the cosmos
you matter
because you are
compassion for oneself
compassion for your humanity
accept your humanness
accept who you are
you have a right to BE
be gentle with you
be gentle
and
breathe
Footprints of Thoughts 
AMEN! Where on God’s green earth did I miss you. Hadn’t seen you in a while Johann?
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well…I come and go…like the wind…(smile) Thank YOU for missing me! At times, I lose my courage to BE me…when I write…early this morning, it returned…
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Well, I did miss you and happy to see you again.
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An honest post, thanks. I truly loved myself the moment I forgave those people in my life that mattered most – for being human and doing the best they could 🙂
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yes…sometimes, the person most difficult to forgive is oneself…yes…you are so right—we are ALL human…we all need compassion for ourselves and each other…
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Beautiful point but so hard!
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Yes, dear Will, not easy at all…and WHY not? We were born because of love…we bask in love when we open ourselves to believe it—there is much good in the world…we must keep the LIGHT shining for each other, and encourage one another…
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Well put
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Hi Johann, as for your questions you left on mine,, reducing the Title list is in the ‘Appearance – Widgets and set the amount of titles one wish. As for the other am not sure, because one is a free wP and other is paid one, they offer different things,, but a guess would in the gravatar settings…otherwise contact WP… sorry not much help.. thank you for stopping by,, your comment was in my Spam why? I dont know,,,,:)
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It does take courage to be human, to feel everything that is ours to feel….encouraging post, thank you, Johann.
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Thank you, j.h.white! Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment! Comments are special! I love your writings! Your artwork! “Knots”–intriguing! I felt myself in it!
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Why is it that we can forgive the frailties in others yet be so hard on ourselves. Your points are well taken, Jane.
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I think I am a very forgiving person…but then people have told me that if I am that hard on myself, then I am that hard on others. I do not think that is true. Maybe I am wrong. In any case, I have been exploring the idea from another approach—if I accept myself and love myself better, I will be more accepting and loving of others. I will do less comparing and judging of others. So maybe I do have this subtle, hard, underlying judgment of others just as I do towards myself? I do think too much! (smile) I have felt much emotional pain in my life…for a number of reasons…and I think what it taught me was that I should be more understanding and compassionate towards others — because just like others do not know what I have endured, I do not know what they have suffered. I try NOT to hurt others as I have been hurt. I think that is WHY I am harder on myself–because of the cruelty of other humans towards me…I have to continually “let go” of the trauma and negative judgment of those people towards me. Because of this, I try extremely hard not to make negative statements to others. I guess I see that pointing out what good someone does is more helpful to them in the long run, than harping on something I do not approve of. I do think I need to forgive myself for my failures, focus less on them and celebrate more what I do right! What do you think about all of what I have just written? What do you think?
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Just because you’re hard on yourself does not necessarily mean you’re harder on others. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jane. From your writings, I see a very positive and caring person.
I think I’m harder on myself because I know what I’m capable of and often feel that I could do more than I have. Like I wish I had the patience of the saints and a Zen-like presence. Sometimes I do. Others, I’m still a work in progress. 🙂
I carry a “blessing” stone. Some call it a worry stone. But calling it a “worry” stone means the focus is on the negative. So I use the “blessing” stone as a way to redirect my energies toward the positive. 🙂
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thank you, Judy, for your words! They mean much to me! I love the idea of carrying a “blessing stone!” Perhaps you should blog about it…I think it would help all of us…it is a great idea…I have a turquoise stone that I received from a friend who visited Canyon de Sheylles in Arizona…the beginning of the awful march…the Trail of Tears. The stone is in the shape of a bear. I should carry this as my reminder to stay positive! Thank you for the lovely suggestion!
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Thank you, Jane, for the wonderful suggestion for a blog post. I’m glad you like the idea of the blessing stone. The turquoise bear sounds really cool.
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I am looking forward to reading your post on the blessing stone!
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Lovely to read thanks. So hard to do when all the world seems to think loving yourself is just arrogance, and those who cannot love themselves can be keen to make sure you don’t love yourself either! But probably the best goal you can have, not least since you can’t love anyone else without loving yourself first…
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YOU have said it well!
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So tough too accomplish – even more difficult to maintain.
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yes…but we just keep working on it each day…right?
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Your posts always get at me in a profound way, Jane 🙂
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Very encouraging, Jane, a good poetry to encourage the depressed to stand up again 🙂
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