...Self Love...

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You could search the world over and you will never find anyone more
deserving of your love than yourself.       

                                                            -Buddha-

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Self-love is a dimension of love. If you are unhappy with yourself,

perhaps you perceive a gap between who you intend to be and who
you are being. Your attitude of mind can eliminate the gap or exacerbate it.
If you judge yourself harshly you will widen the gap. If you are present
with yourself without judgment you will close the gap. The simple act of
being present with yourself without judgment cultivates self-love.

Self-love requires a quality of spaciousness that allows us to be with
ourselves instead of running away. When we are in pain, we want to blame.
When we are in fear, we want to flee. When we are angry or resent, we want

to lash out. All of these behaviors are ways that we negate our self. When we
identify with the nourishing, nurturing center of our being, we begin to
express more of our authentic self with ease and grace. By simply bearing
witness to our unskillful states of mind we may discover that all we need is
a kind word or a corrected perception about life. If we take the time to be
with our self instead of ignoring our self, self-love arises within us and
protects us like the shade of a lush and leafy tree.

When we are present with ourselves we will discover what it means to love
our selves. As we love our self, we learn to love our neighbor as our self
because we have loved all of the neighboring and sometimes conflicting parts
of our own being. As we cultivate the love of our own soul we open to the
love all around us. We gratefully behold our true self everywhere.