Self Love Reflections: Loving Others

Posted: April 24, 2011 at 2:12 pm

Happy Easter to those out there celebrating! For me, this is such a glorious day and actually my favorite out of all the holidays when it comes to the meaning behind the celebration. Since Jesus loved us all so fully, I wanted to share a self-love reflection that would coincide with his number one message – to love others! This message is for everyone, regardless of beliefs. Love is such a powerful force. Use it for good in your life.

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I have already shared how important it is to recognize others’ love for us. You might remember that one. It was probably my personal favorite of this series because I felt it so deeply. Accepting love from others can threaten the walls we build around ourselves. We fear breaking down all our defenses because it may reveal our weakness, hurt, and shame. We cannot keep those defenses though. Not only do they make it hard to accept love from others, but they also make it hard to give love to others.

When I lived my life secluded in the hard shell of depression, binging, and negativity, not only could I not see others reach out to me but I didn’t want to reach out to them. I hated my loneliness  but I put on a happy face as much as possible to appease others so they wouldn’t come too close. I felt I had no love to give.

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My faith and allowing myself to attempt new relationships played a large part in opening my eyes to the importance of loving others. It started with loving Peter and not wanting to hurt him. It grew with not wanting to pretend in front of others. It grew even more when I got more involved in the church and built up amazing relationships there. Not only did I learn people could care about me, but also I cared about them. Doing things to uplift them helped me feel good too. Then it became this never-ending cycle that continued to build upon itself.

Now, I love hard. I care so greatly for the obvious contenders – my husband and my children, my parents and siblings, my close friends. I also truly love people I’ve never even met. You all. I feel blessed to have met some of you and hope to get the chance to meet each one of you, but even if our paths never physically cross I honestly don’t know what I would do without you and wish the best for each of you. I hope you know that.

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I even extend my love to strangers. I believe in random acts of kindness, the power of a smile, and how a polite conversation with someone for even just one minute can make a difference. And I always feel better about the world and myself after such actions. The only way to feel love deep down is to give it and receive it. It’s what we were made to do. If we deny that part of ourselves something will always feel missing, making it that much harder to fully love ourselves.

How are you going to show love to someone this weekend? We have numerous people in our lives to love…be open to all! Have a fabulous Sunday!

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17 Comments to “Self Love Reflections: Loving Others”
  1. I love this.
    I try to at least smile at everyone I come across. I think it makes a difference.
    I used to have some pretty big walls up, and if Im being honest, I still do, but I feel like blogging has helped me break through some of them. Its a way to be 100% honest and not have to face anyone while Im doing it. Its made it easier for me to be that honest in real life.

  2. Love this post Tina — I’m showing love this weekend by being with my family who I love and telling them how much they mean to me.

  3. Happy Easter Tina!! 🙂 Great post!

  4. Jolene says:

    such a great one, Tina…you put so much into these posts, and reveal much of your own past struggles and I really think that takes bravery. I really respect that. And it IS hard to love yourself sometimes…I struggle with it too, more often than I’d like.

  5. Tina, I love these posts. I can always relate to them and they make me feel like there are others out there that go through some of the same feelings. I am so glad I found blogging…it’s amazing how I can relate to and find comfort in people that I have never “met”. 🙂

  6. lindsay says:

    this post hit me hard, in a good good way! I needed to hear it and what a perfect day to focus on loving some else. THank you Tina. Happy Easter. He has Risen!

  7. Paige says:

    What a great post for Easter:) You’re such a good person <3

  8. Thank you for a lovely and touching post Tina! We all love you too and hope you had a beautiful Easter weekend with your family.

  9. LauraJayne says:

    Learning to love again, even complete strangers, was the key to recovering from a really horrible breakup and relationship. I’ve been stressed lately, and I’ve forgotten a lot that I learned over the past two years about love – this post helped me to remember that! Here’s to starting a new week on the right foot! Love you blog and love this post! Happy Easter!

  10. i got chills reading this! it is so imperative that we discover our own faith so that we mahy recognize the beauty and love that can be found in even the most unexpected places. Smiles, laughs, hugs and love is completely contagious. If only we’d remember to share a little more often

  11. I could feel your passion oozing from this post Tina ~ it was beautiful! I agree that random acts of kindness and showing love to others means so much and gives so much love in return. Happy Easter to you & your family!

  12. What a lovely post, Happy Easter Tina 😀

  13. Kia says:

    This was such an on-time message for me. Thank you.

  14. I think loving others is such an important thing. I think people tend to love others before they love themselves, which isn’t such a great idea. I love hard too!

  15. Sarah says:

    I love that Emmerson quote! I love doing small random acts of kindness. Typically I find myself doing these acts on the days I’m particularly grouchy or impatient. It helps ground me and makes me feel more connected to the outside world.

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