“I was no longer needing to be special, because I was no longer so caught up in my puny separateness that I had to keep proving I was something”

Ram Dass

I started learning to love myself the day I realized it was more selfish for me to hate myself than to love myself. Let me explain. I always had said that I loved everyone. And I did… well kind of. For some reason I allowed myself to be the one person who was excluded from everyone. I really thought that I was that different, and that special that I wasn’t included in the phrase “everyone”. That I didn’t deserve the love, kindness, and compassion that I showed to every other being I had ever encountered. I didn’t realize how separate I viewed myself from a world I wanted so desperately to be an interworking part of. I realized how selfish it was for me to hate myself. So I started my journey towards learning how to love myself. Healing takes time. I still slip up. I still accidentally let the words “I hate myself” fall from my lips from time to time. The only difference is now I realize that its not truly what I mean. And I correct myself. I love myself. I love everyone. And I am a part of everyone.