Words To Live By

A few years ago, I came across an excerpt that resonated with me:

-No one is going to love you exactly like you imagine. No one is ever going to read your mind and take every star from the sky at the perfect time and hand it to you. No one is ever going to show up at your door on a horse, with a shoe you lost. Do you understand? That’s why you have to love yourself enough, so that any other love just adds more candles to the cake you’ve already iced.-

After reading and re-reading these words, I immediately saved the excerpt to my desktop and labeled it "Words To Live By".   

I feel its message mirrors that of the popular aphorism, "You must love yourself before others can love you".  But what does this adage mean?  What does it mean to love yourself?  

For me, it's one word - confidence.  Confidence in the choices I choose to make.  Confidence in knowing that I am loved and lovable. Confidence in my strength to overcome struggle and strife. Confidence in knowing that I am enough.  

If you don't feel as though you are enough for yourself, nothing anyone else does will be enough either.  It starts with you.

Confidence is something I struggle to find, often.  It's not always there but it's always available. Exersising self care, physically and mentally, and educating myself have been tremendous aids in accessing the confidence I know I have.