's motd Thurs. Aug 7, 2008

[Guest guest]

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

Thursday, 07 August 2008

I know many of you feel unloved. You tell me so in your E-mails. It's almost shocking that so many people on this earth tell me they hate themselves.

Hate, ohh-h-h, that was not a good word at all in my house when I was growing up on St. Louis Street in New Orleans. No one used that word in our house!

If I sat down and looked at a vegetable on the dinner table and had the nerve to announce that I "hated it," my father soon taught me how to love it. (Well, sort of.)And say, if my mother bought me a new shirt and I didn't like it, I'd say to her, "Mother, I hate this shirt!" Oh-oh, once again, not such a good idea. Because she would make sure I wore that shirt so much that it began to feel like a second skin to me!Let's face it, hate is not a good thing to do. And you should especially not be hating you! For you are like a gem in the rough, a work in progress. And you should be working hard everyday to make sure that the gem that is you shines brilliantly.But when you hate yourself, your insides become like the color of used dish water. Come on, why...why, for goodness sake, would you hate yourselves, my dear friends?

Is it because you felt unloved as a child? You should remember, by the way, that your parents came with their own set of baggage, before you had bags of your own. Or maybe you were seeing a person who broke your heart. Maybe you were hurt by a dear friend or family member. But the bottom line is that none of your sources of past pain should be reason for you to hate yourself today.When you don't feel loved, you may ask yourself...Why is no one loving me? There must be something wrong with me. And if others don't like me, then why should I like me? Now I've got to tell you that if you keep that kind of attitude about yourself, then hate only grows. Where is the love?

Well, it's time to find the love for yourself that is inside you. I want you to forget, right now, what other people have said about you and focus on your own self-love today. And how do you do that? You start by actually writing down all of your loving ways. Write down the virtues that you possess and that list should say it all about you. You're a good person, take it from me. There are so many nice things you do for others. You're a good worker. You have a kind heart. (See, are you beginning to get the picture?)And the more you remind yourself of what a good person you are, the more you'll begin to believe and realize what a good person you are, really! And when you're filled with that kind of self-worth, believe me, others will notice. Then you'll see where the love is...inside of you!With So-o-o Much Love,