What is self love?

[FoxTracks]

Here’s one for all you philosophers out there. To your mind, what is self love?

In my mind, self love is treating your body as a temple. This means good food and not using drugs or drinking alcohol to excess. It means getting some excercise. It also means keeping your living space reasonably clean (I.e. not living in filth.) That’s the easy stuff, to my mind.

Then there’s the other side of the coin. Be kind to yourself mentally! Don’t beat yourself up and don’t hurt yourself by encouraging negative emotions. It means letting go of toxic emotions, like fear and hatred. It means being positive in our thinking. It also means understanding ourselves, our rhythms and our weaknesses. We have to be kind to ourselves even if we are not living up to that inner critic’s standards. This is true even when we are failing to completely treat our body as a temple. I am honestly not the greatest at that myself (I smoke, have been addicted for years.) That’s because when we think negatively we do nothing but sap our own energy and make being active more difficult.

So what do you all think? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Love and light your way,

FoxTracks

+ thinking your perfect as you are this moment

Also been contemplating this lately

[wstein]

Generally loving another is about caring, compassion, and empathy (towards them). Self love is the same thing where you are both the one loving and the one being loved.

In practical terms it is about taking your turn benefiting from your kind acts.

[JustBe]

By letting go of everything you know, doesn’t fit you.

What arises then, is the essence of your true self that leads aware and aligned to what that expression is.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by wstein

Generally loving another is about caring, compassion, and empathy (towards them). Self love is the same thing
where you are both the one loving and the one being loved.
In practical terms it is about taking your turn benefiting from your kind acts.

Couldn't have said it better. Simple.
(Kindness is a big, simple word, covers so many bases.)

[RedEmbers]

I feel like self acceptance encapsulates self love quite well...
It is what comes to mind when i think about self love.

It seems a little bit more realistic to me, personally.

[JustBe]

Deleted*

If your self love doesn’t think so, then good for you for thinking for yourself.

What encompasses my true nature, is loving kindness , compassion and joyful being.

How do you discover those attributes?

By letting go of everything that isn’t you.

What might self love be in part of this process?

An act of conscious engagement towards yourself to nurture and understand your true nature. It’s the relationship you hold towards yourself. What that is is only what you know of yourself.

The act is an all encompassing process of allowing, accepting, letting go to know within true nature is the natural arising of those attributes I mentioned. They don’t require forced practice, they exist as the true self knows and feels as itself. The extension, from there is just being you aware and clear.

[Miss Hepburn]

Please, all of us are contributing our ideas...let us, without negative comments. Thank you.

[Miss Hepburn]

How do we love others, so sweetly...our baby, our family and friends, our pets?
Do the same for ourselves!!!
And in every facet, in every way!

[FoxTracks]

Thank you all for your illuminating thoughts. I suppose I could be making it more complicated than it needs to be, when simple words can express self love.

Love and light your way,

FoxTracks