Love Thyself

If we are born pure and untouched by society and all the imperfections of the world, we know no other way to think of ourselves, but as perfect.  So when, where and how do we learn to judge ourselves so harshly?  How does our self esteem fall from it's stable and secure place?  How does our confidence start to waver?  What starts this somewhat downward spiral?

As a parent with a spirited 2 year old I worry about this constantly.  How can I protect him from a lack of self esteem or self judgement?  How can I keep him in that perfect cocoon where he knows nothing other than that he is a being of perfection and an equal, confident member of the planet?

It's a tough one and it has got me thinking of my own journey...trying to remember when it was that I started judging myself?  Was it something a teacher or parent said?  Was it due to an influence by a peer or a schoolyard comment that caused me to question myself?

So how do we get back to that place of self love and wholeness, where we are fully accepting of ourselves?  Where we can live peacefully and in a state of contentment.

I suppose 'acceptance' is a key word here...acceptance of our past mistakes, our flaws and also acceptance of our perfections...being able to love who we are, to be able to find many reasons for why we are worthy of love and to focus on these.  To shift our consciousness to focusing on the positive aspects of ourselves and away from the negative.  Where the mind goes...energy flows....

From acceptance stems confidence....and confidence in ourselves gives rise to strength and resistance to self-consciousness, and this in turn leads to Wholeness......peace......contentment.

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission" - Eleanor Roosevelt