The Love Series Wrap Up

[vc_row no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none”][vc_column width=”1/2″][x_video_embed type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][text_output]Self-Love: Being able to honestly love yourself. Recognizing that even if there are things you want to change about your character or physical self, that the person you are, the role you play in the world, and the body that houses you is valuable and worthy. Self-love is the root and beginning of all other love because it’s only when you can accept love of yourself from yourself that you can accept others’ love too. Self-love is something that requires attention because we have all grown up in a world and with a culture that ranks, judges, and divides. We learn early what others think of us, we accept where and who they want us to be, and we hide the very things that make us different. A world full of people who want to be unique, but who are too scared to stand out. So, the time has come to make those days long gone and to walk proudly and love ourselves bravely.[/text_output][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][x_video_embed type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][text_output]Love For Others: Speaking to that same culture, because we learn to see ourselves as us and them, we lose the fact that we are all the same. Beneath it all, we function in the same manner, we’re structured the same, and we’ve all come from the same place. We celebrate differences, but only as much as they make us comfortable. We fear things we don’t understand and in that we fear the people who represent those things. We have strayed from the childlike love and found shelter in keeping others out. We’ve developed a habit of suffering in silence and mocking those who are vulnerable. But, when we choose to love others and to be loving of those we don’t know, not only do the other people benefit, but so too do we. Love isn’t a pawn, it’s not a carrot to dangle and manipulate people with, it’s an emotion that is the result of a thought. Choose thoughts that uplift, encourage, forgive, and help others.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none”][vc_column width=”1/2″][x_video_embed type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][text_output]Head Love vs. Heart Love: Knowing you’re loved is great. You can easily recognize the people who genuinely and unconditionally love you. But, what happens when you need more than just knowing you’re loved? When you feel empty or lonely, when knowing that people care leaves you short? You must learn to communicate what you need in order to feel loved. “I don’t feel loved” doesn’t mean that people don’t love you. It just means that the people who do love you aren’t doing or saying the ‘right’ thing. It’s up to you to learn it for yourself, learn what others need, and to share with those whose love you desire. We can go through life pretending that we are strong enough to do things on our own, without the help of others, or without love, but then we’re left with a world full of hating, bitter, lonely, and scared people.[/text_output][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][x_video_embed type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][text_output]Romantic Love: The kind that TV and movies feed off of. The love of a companion, partner, spouse, bf or gf. The love that spends time, buys gifts, affirms, does things for you, that hugs and kisses you (among other things). The kind of love that feels good and that is good, the love for another and from another that feeds the part of you that requires connection. Wanting to be loved and loving someone is healthy, and the reason I save it for last was because it’s most healthy when you have an understanding and practice of the other three. If you have a healthy level of self-esteem, if you treat others lovingly, and if you know what you need in order to feel loved, romantic love is less work to maintain.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row]