Learning to love yourself

The first step in finding peace and happiness is learning how to love yourself. No one knows your faults better than you - no one knows your deep dark secrets better than you. So it is easy to think of all the reasons why we can't do this or that, or why we can't fully love ourselves. One idea would be to start with a self inventory - make a list of all the things you like about yourself - at first this will seem awkward and difficult. Your list may even seem short at first, mine was. But share it with a friend, someone you can trust to understand what you are trying to accomplish. Don't try to "justify" or negate the things you wrote by focusing on your shortcomings. In time you will learn to like yourself and begin to see the many qualities that make you unique and worthy of compliments.

The next step in learning to love yourself is to accept the love of others - especially when you think you don't deserve it. The best way to accept love is to offer love to others - be grateful for another's kindness, by telling them what you appreciate about them. The smallest gesture on your part will go along way to cultivating love and respect from and for others. By focusing on other's needs we tend to stop focusing only on ourselves. And then when we turn our own shortcomings over to God, He turns them into strength's that we can then use to make another's life worthwhile. Doing life together is what it is all about - and you will find peace in the truth that God loves you very much - we are called to love others as God loves us, just the way we are - because that's how He created us.