Self Love is #trending. Does anyone even know what it means?

I’ve always been fascinated to know what self-love really means. I know I’ve heard it in a million places, and seen it being used by everyone from learned spiritual gurus, to psychologists, and even Instagram creators; and while a broad definition has certainly emerged, it’s difficult to pinpoint what it truly is.

Some call it a lifestyle- of treating yourself with a degree of kindness, warmth and appreciation; pampering your body and mind.

Others say it’s an integral psychological and emotional need- important not only for one’s own mental health, but for every relationship you form

And another school of thought calls it the only “true” form of love we can experience at the soul level, and a conduit of universal consciousness.

All these are valid, and true channels of belief, but while they offer us a circumference of the subject; they barely offer us a true understanding of the everyday endeavour of self-love.

After 55+ years of life, I can promise you that all I know about self-love is in abstractions-in schools of thought and some fairly quotable quotes. But today, I’m embarking on the journey to discover what it truly is. And I want to share this beautiful journey with more and more people who are struggling with what I once battled- accumulating success, working to nourish the family, and soon realising that while I had learnt of the love outside of me, and how much of it I could give- I needed to foster the same WITHIN.

All great tasks begin with one thing- a great to-do list. And I populated this list with questions that I was excited to unravel:

1. What exactly is “loving the self?”

2. Is self love about treating the self a certain way, or all about thoughts and feelings?

3. Does self love have anything to do with how we love others?

4. Is self love selfish?

5. How do we love ourselves and why does it matter?

Over the next 10 days, I will share with you my faithful findings on the above 5 questions about self love. We will decode what it truly means to practice self-love, and understand its true significance to human life. It’s all too easy to misinterpret a buzzword, and try to go by other’s definition of concepts like this which grab everyone’s attention and start lengthy debates. But by its very nature, ‘self’ love, brings the self into centre-stage of the equation. We cannot outsource feeling, understanding and knowing to anyone else but ourselves- so why are we so ready to do the same when it comes to love? There’s much to decode right there. And I can’t wait to have you all join me on the journey.

I’ll leave you here with this thought- with practice, self-love can become second nature; without it feeling fake, inauthentic or uncomfortable. So let’s dust this concept off the bookshelves and tune out the clichéd commentary. Together, let’s grow and become more loving by learning, and bringing it into our awareness everyday.

Ready to go? I know I am!