I’ve been thinking about the beauty of how self-love is universal yet also extremely personal.
What I mean is, almost everybody knows the definition of self-love if you ask them on the spot, but how they become very particular from one person to another is so beautiful. How it lies in its individual expression, in many different shapes and form, where our understanding grows each day until its unique and ours to embrace. With all sorts of ingredients life gives us, we know we have the power on how to cultivate and practice it until it becomes a deeply personal experience that reflects the intricacies of the human life.
As a young adult who still suffers from acne, a huge part of this arduous journey is figuring out how I can live a simple, normal life – that is, to freely socialize, with this insecurity that is my face. For a time, self-love sounded ridiculous to me, especially when its equated to overall health, which includes skin care of course. I felt like this was entirely my fault and that I just need to love and care for myself to solve this. It was war before I came to the point of surrender where I have a clearer picture of how beauty is beyond skin deep.
After that, I slowly came to the realization that this is my journey in the first place. I don’t have to be frustrated because mine doesn’t look as good and free-flowing as the others’ I see on the internet. Most importantly, I realized that this was supposed to be a holistic experience, a journey I should navigate through as one, connected parts.
From that time on, I removed the spotlight a bit from my skin insecurities and I started meditating on how I can take care for myself mentally. Safe to say it was successful because I slowly started becoming gentle with myself, taking my precious time into figuring out how to heal my insecurities on all other aspects. I was really happy because the more I understand how my mindset of being content and confident complements my little efforts to support my physical health, everything just became lighter.
We all know that our individual journeys will take time, and I encourage you to let them, and let yourself. It will be difficult on most days, but breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, and breathe out. Let us remind ourselves every day that beauty is beyond skin deep, as well as self-love! People don’t get to give instructions on how to love ourselves right because this is ours. DO YOU. Beauty was never limited to physical appearance, it can be measured in the way we treat others, the kindness we share, and the radiance that emanates from within. It is a reflection of our character, our values, and our unique qualities, all built through time that we ourselves have spent.
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