Love the one you’re with!
Love the one you’re with!
I still remember that Valentine’s Day in college when my roommate received not just one, but three beautiful bouquets of flowers delivered to our door within a few short hours. By the third time the doorbell rang it was almost a joke, but I wasn’t laughing. Instead, I was irritated because my Valentine was hundreds of miles away, attending school in fabulous Florida while I was feeling stuck in gloomy Greenville, NC. Kicked back in my bean bag chair blasting Journey from the stereo; I still have flashbacks whenever I hear ‘Open Arms’.
Isn’t it interesting I recall these moments in such vivid detail, yet I may be a challenged to tell you what I did yesterday? Emotion and memory are close cousins: the stronger the feelings, the stronger the memories.
Valentine’s Day brings mixed feelings for many; it’s a time we celebrate love yet many are still searching for something we read about in books, sing about in songs and assume that everyone around us is already enjoying. That elusive emotion that initiates excitement, contentment and curiosity, comes to the forefront in February as some folks scramble to secure their ‘Valentine’.
It’s not surprising that most people seek love outside of themselves, not realizing that true love begins within. If you don’t love yourself, how can you expect others to love you? If you are not aware of your own gifts of grace, how will they ever be experienced or appreciated by others?
Don’t wait for the right person to come into your life; make yourself the right person and you will attract more of the same. Before searching for the perfect person or relationship… really get to know yourself and be the best version of YOU. When you do, you exude an attraction that invites others to love you too.
I’m not talking about an egocentric, arrogant love that suggests that you are better than others, but an appreciation for who you are and all you have to offer the world. Self-love is simply accepting yourself as you are and making a conscious choice to be the person you were created to be.
You are the only person you will never leave or lose. To the questions in your life, you are the answer, to the problems in your life, you are the solution. That’s a pretty scary proposition considering most people invest inordinate amounts of energy searching for someone else to be the source of their happiness. The worldly wisdom you seek resides in your heart and when activated, is illuminated by others around you.
Be your own best friend, celebrate your uniqueness and give yourself the gift of unconditional love.
Begin within. Love the one you’re with, and realize that will always be YOU.
