14/09/2026
After years of being on a self-love journey, I have concluded that love is not a feeling, it's a choice. Up until recently, I associated "love" with the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes when you meet someone new and you have a spark in your chemistry, or with the feeling I felt when my kids were born. Turns out, that's joy, not love. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe joy is bad or wrong, but I think that when I thought I loved someone, what I really felt was enjoyment of them. This explains why I felt love was fleeting, because it wasn't love, it was joy.
Love isn't a feeling; it's a choice. It's the decision to commit to unwavering honesty and unwavering personal responsibility. Those two choices are love in action. Choosing to be honest and choosing to be responsible for myself fills me with joy, so I can see how I continued confusing joy and love for so long.
The truth is, I love everybody equally. I see that now, and I've only been able to say that after going on an intense journey of loving myself. I can love my enemies, and it's actually quite easy...I treat them the way I treat everyone-with honesty and personal responsibility, while holding them accountable for their levels of honesty and personal responsibility. It wasn't until I applied those two principles to my own life, repeatedly and unendingly, that I was able to see how to treat all people equitably.
I love everybody equally, but I damn sure don't like everybody equally, nor do I enjoy everybody equally! I choose to love myself by not putting myself around people who prefer dishonesty and lack accountability. Choosing to stay around people who show me they lack love, is showing myself that I don't believe I am worthy of love, and I know I am.
I used to be afraid to talk about this kind of thing. I used to be scared that people would read my words about self-love and view me as "holier than thou." I see now that was coming from old wounds asking to be healed. Now, I no longer feel pressured to be flawless. I give myself permission to make mistakes. Because of my commitments to honesty and personal responsibility, I do not fear my flaws and mistakes. I simply own them, resolve them, and move forward. Making mistakes is not a big deal unless I make it one.
Understanding the difference between love and joy has been liberating for me. Rather than feeling unloved by people who do not enjoy me, I feel unliked. That hits a lot differently. I want all people to enjoy life, and so that's my goal with any interaction I have with people. If we aren't meeting that goal, I can confidently know I wanted it, and stay open to meeting that goal in the future, should it become a mutual one.
We choose to love ourselves with our choices, and choosing to love me is what brings me joy, peace, happiness, and contentment. Choosing to love myself doesn't mean I never feel anger, sadness, grief, etc., it only means I respond to all of my feelings with love. Choosing to love myself was the best choice I've ever made; it saved me from the emotional Hell I was in. I truly want everyone to experience the healing power of self-love! Are you ready to love yourself today?
🙏🏻😇🙏🏻