Love is something we give ourselves from within; not something someone ‘gives’ us… For better or worse, our emotions are OURS to own.
Imagine a beautiful garden, lush with vibrant flowers of every hue. Now, think of these flowers as your emotions - love, joy, sadness, anger - each blooming within you, nurtured by your own care and attention. In this garden, love isn't a gift bestowed upon you by another, like a bouquet handed over; instead, it's the tender act of tending to your own emotional landscape.
Too often, we wander through life expecting love to be handed to us on a silver platter, believing it's something we can receive from external sources: a partner, a friend, or even society's approval. But the truth is far more profound - love isn't a commodity to be traded or a prize to be won. It's a seed planted deep within us, waiting for the nourishment of our own self-acceptance and kindness to flourish.
Just as a gardener tends to their plants with care, we must cultivate love within ourselves, watering it with compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Only then can it blossom into something truly beautiful, enriching not only our own lives but also the lives of those around us.
Think of it like this: Imagine you're on a journey through a vast desert, parched and weary from the scorching sun above. You stumble upon an oasis, hoping for relief, only to realize that the water you seek lies within you, waiting to be tapped into. In the same way, love is the oasis within us, offering solace and nourishment in the driest of times.
It's easy to fall into the trap of seeking external validation, believing that someone else's love will complete us. But the reality is that no amount of external affection can fill the void within if we don't first learn to love ourselves. Like a puzzle missing its centerpiece, we remain incomplete until we recognize our own worth and embrace the love that resides within us.
Consider this: Picture yourself standing on a beach, watching the waves crash against the shore. Just as the ocean is vast and boundless, so too is the capacity for love within you. It's a limitless resource, waiting to be tapped into and shared with the world around you.
So, the next time you find yourself yearning for love from another, pause and look inward. Take a moment to appreciate the garden of emotions blooming within you, recognizing that love is not something to be sought after but rather something to be nurtured from within.
Ask yourself: How can I cultivate more love within myself today?
* To gain more inspiration and motivation for your personal growth journey, I recommend visiting my SMART goals page, which offers a wide range of goal ideas to help you establish new aspirations and achieve greater success in life. This list was crucial in the development of my own life goals list, consisting of 100 goals that I pursued for ten years.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
