Mirror Reflections

I am trying to habitually love myself. To some, it may look like egoism. But when I was young, I didn’t love and accept myself. I always looked up to others. I wished for a better life and thought everyone else must have the answers — everyone except me. But now that I am an adult, if I don’t love and respect myself, how am I going teach my children? I no longer accept negativity. I’ve thought long and hard about why people would go there and criticize anyone else without fully understanding everything they deal with. One conclusion several of my friends supported is that some negative people may be jealous of the people they hurt. I could never really believe that someone would be jealous of me. But people may see a lot that you don’t pay close attention to day-to-day. I remember being in the shelter and someone actually told me they were jealous of me. I was laughing, because I honestly thought they were joking. But I am where I am today — not where I was years ago. So I’m working to love myself. I know it is important. I want to be able to accept that there is nothing wrong with taking care of myself and investing in my future. I can’t think about others, let alone help others, if my self is out of whack. Disrespect challenges you to think outside the box and rely on self-love. People will always have excuses about why they treat you poorly. But reflect on that negativity and realize that, if they want to be walking in your shoes, you must be doing something right. In the end, it does not matter what other people think. Regardless of how others want to paint your picture, you create your own destiny. If you start new chapters in your life, nobody is creating that book but you. You can learn from everyone, but you have to recognize which seeds are good and which seeds are bad.