“A deep love resides inside each of us.

This love is independent of the desires, thoughts, and opinions, good or bad,
which are readily offered to us. It is a love that is gentle and kind, accepting and non-judgmental, playful and
spontaneous, courageous and curious. It is always encouraging and always evolving. This love can be discovered only
through turning off the noise around us, coming to ourselves in silence, meditation, and prayer. If we listen carefully,
we will hear the murmurs of our inner voice tell yearnings of our truest selves. What is available to us is a profound
understanding, appreciation, and full acceptance of self, all of the good and all of the bad.

Only when we truly know that we are able to tap into this part of ourselves can we begin to love others fully. Love
for others is the manifestation of love for self. We cannot love another more than we love ourselves. Life is a
mirror. If you want to know what your love for others looks like, look at your love for self. When you love yourself
this way, you love God this way. This relationship is the divine love triangle; self, God, and others in any order.”
― Marlon Lindsay

“One of the best guides to how to be self-loving is to give ourselves the love we are often dreaming about
receiving from others. There was a time when I felt lousy about my over-forty body, saw myself as too fat, too this,
or too that. Yet I fantasized about finding a lover who would give me the gift of being loved as I am. It is silly, isn't it,
that I would dream of someone else offering to me the acceptance and affirmation I was withholding from myself.
This was a moment when the maxim "You can never love anybody if you are unable to love yourself" made clear
sense. And I add, "Do not expect to receive the love from someone else you do not give yourself.”
― Bell Hooks, All About Love: New Visions

“To the people who love you, you are beautiful already. This is not because they’re blind to your shortcomings but
because they so clearly see your soul. Your shortcomings then dim by comparison. The people who care about you
are willing to let you be imperfect and beautiful, too. (20)”
― Victoria Moran, Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul For Lifelong Beauty

“If you celebrate your differentness, the world will, too. It believes exactly what you tell it—through the words you
use to describe yourself, the actions you take to care for yourself, and the choices you make to express yourself. Tell
the world you are one-of-a-kind creation who came here to experience wonder and spread joy. Expect to be
accommodated.”

“Today is a new day and it brings with it a new set of opportunities for me to act on.
I am attentive to the opportunities and I seize them as they arise.
I have full confidence in myself and my abilities.
I can do all things that I commit myself to.
No obstacle is too big or too difficult for me to handle because what lies inside me is greater than what lies ahead of
me.
I am committed to improving myself and I am getting better daily.
I am not held back by regret or mistakes from the past.
I am moving forward daily.
Absolutely nothing is impossible for me.”
― Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability

“Study yourself. Become your own mentor and best friend. When you are suffering stay at the bottom until you find
out who you are. Let the storms come and pass. How you walk through the fire says a lot about you. Nobody likes a
victimhood mentality and what happened to you is not important. It is about how you use your chaos that matters.”
― Mohadesa Najumi

“No tree tries to become a certain kind of tree. No flower tries to become a certain kind of flower. The tree and the
flower open up to the sun and soak up water. Thus, they grow into themselves. No judgment. No expectations. No
commentary. Your task is the same. If you can stop trying so hard to become who you think you should be, and
instead commit to understanding and nourishing yourself, you will bloom into whatever kind of person you are.”
― Vironika Tugaleva, The Art of Talking to Yourself

Q1: What was inspiring from the text?

Q2: What habit of self-love do you practice?