So many things have happened and changed this week that it feels like forever ago since I sat down to write. We’ve had train rides, long nights, good byes, stomach flu, arguments over the phone with the company I bought a chair from, book club meetings, our 5 year anniversary, coffee and shopping trips and a few long siestas.
Today I wanted to talk about something I read that caused quite an impact on me and had me thinking, it’s about how we shouldn’t romanticise the idea of self love. At first I thought well why wouldn’t you? It’s really important and it’s something we should all learn to take care of and help flourish, but it’s sometimes not that easy for everyone. It can actually be quite painful and difficult to have to love yourself every day at every moment. This is when the idea clicked in my brain and I thought, this may have a point.
Every day isn’t perfect, some days I wake up having a great hair day and think wow I look great, some days I can’t even make a messy bun look decent and that’s ok. You’re not the same person every day and some days you’ll cry, some days you’ll feel angry, some days you’ll be over the moon and this is all pretty normal. Life isn’t a straight line that you drive down with no little issues along the way. One day you’re bound to find a rock in the middle of the road or get a flat tyre, other days it’ll be sunny as hell and others it will be rainy and windy. It’s all okay.
We all deserved to be loved by ourselves unconditionally, or at least the best as we can in our own individual ways. But it doesn’t have to be every day and in the same amount. This week when I had a stomach bug and was vomiting and sleeping almost 24 hours a day, I wasn’t exactly feeling my best and in love with myself and the next few days afterwards it took some time for me to actually want to get dressed, go outside and look the part. Thats’s ok too. Each day is a whole new story to write and you can go with the flow and do whatever feels best for you and this is where the idea of romanticising self love can be dangerous. If we feel like crap and still think we need to love ourselves, have a spa morning, wear our best clothes and eat super clean, we’re going to end up banging our heads against the wall out of frustration.
Self love is a lot of things, it’s being able to cry, suffering, leave people, go back, want to disappear, fall for the same mistakes, ask for help, feel lost... It’s a lot of things that many people don’t talk about, and of course, it’s not always easy. Self-exploration and digging inside of your own mind can be hard and those who do it know, I know. But we’re on a journey and each little step we take, in whichever direction, is self love.
Go a little easier on yourself this week 🤎