LOVE YOURSELF.

In a country where love is preached in every street corner and even from rooftops, everything around us bear imprints of hatred and animosity: broken homes, burnt churches, decapitated bodies, abandoned children, ravaged lands.
The irony bears testimony to one truth: We have not learnt to love.

Not our neighbour and surely not God.

We just enjoy talking and singing about 'love'.

In learning how to love,there is no better place to begin than from within.'Charity',they say,'begins at home.'

And we've been told to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

So for a start: Love yourself.

Most of us hate ourselves.

This is a truth many deny persistently. If not,how can we explain the palpable frustration on most people's faces? 

Or self-deprecating remarks like 'I'm stupid...I'm a big fool'?

Or the rising prevalence of depression and suicide attempts?

Why will you wish to be someone else if you love yourself?

Huh?

Granted some things about you may not be superb.

You may not have wads of loose cash to spend or have the height or size of your dreams.

But so what?

Love yourself.

Appreciate your uniqueness and what sets you apart.

It is a testament of the wonderful nature of your being.

And remember,you are a co-creator.

So if your circumstances ain't right, go and create the ideal circumstances!

Work hard and make more money.

Get a degree.

Exercise daily till you get that trim body.

Change what you can,enjoy what you can't.

It is quite true that many of us have made terrible mistakes in the past.

And done many things we are not proud of.

But still I urge you: Love yourself.

Those mistakes are necessary components of your life story.

Believe me, unpalatable as they may seem, they've made your life interesting.

And here's the good news: They've been locked away in your past now.

You future does not depend on them, it depends on your present.

So dear, love yourself...

Now.

Loving yourself does not mean lying sprawled on the sofa sixteen hours daily watching TV.

Loving yourself doesn't mean emptying your bank account and spending everything today.

NO!!! 

Loving yourself means appreciating every moment of your existence and developing yourself to full capacity.

Loving yourself means being joyful and happy and passing the same joy and optimism to others.

Loving yourself means recognizing your unique role to humanity and striving to fill it.

Loving yourself means seeing yourself as part of a whole and doing your best to preserve that whole.

If we learn to truly love ourselves, our eyes will be opened.

Then,we can look sideways and love our neighbour.

And together, we will all look up, and come to love our God...the epitome of love.