it’s early sunday morning, the apartment is quiet, and i’m ready to preach another sermon in swedish today. freaky, but amazing at the same time. feels like the whole world is still asleep. that it’s just me. and god. i saw the sunrise, i sipped my coffee, & i put the finishing touches on what i’m gonna say today. all this quiet time alone has inspired me & calmed my spirit, so i thought i’d share a little with you…
i’ve been thinking a lot about being true to yourself lately (as usual, i guess). it’s not an easy thing. first off, many times we don’t like ourselves. we think we could be better, or should be better. we think we don’t deserve happiness. and we are trained to believe that thinking about ourselves is selfish. we should always think about others first. well, i’m not so sure about that. actually, i beg to differ. i do think that it is a balance, that we need not be greedy, self-absorbed, and love ourselves so much that we put other people down, or think that we are better. of course, that is not self-love. that is bad self-confidence. but, i do think that to love ourselves, to think of ourselves means to be aware of who we are. our dreams. our ambitions. our goals. and to that end, perhaps our dreams & goals satisfy us, but hopefully they make a difference in others’ lives too. for when we are truly true to ourselves, to who we are, then our lives seem to radiate positive energy, we spread love without even meaning to, and the world can be transformed into a much more peaceful, harmonic place.
no, i don’t think it is selfish to think of yourself. i think it is necessary. all of us have so much to give; and living from our souls, believing in our own inherent goodness, opens our souls up to the world.
you have something to give. you are here for a reason. you have dreams. listen to your soul, believe in yourself, and chase those dreams as far as they take you.
I believe that since all of us are unique we should celebrate who we are, and rejoice in the different gifts of others, as together we have the full range of talents necessary to provide a full life for all. Love your neighbor as yourself. You and your neighbor have equal worth.
amen & amen!
“…we don’t like ourselves. we think we could be better, or should be better.”
Yes, that’s so true! We always strive to be better than now, to have a different life than now but it might be bitter to wake up one day and see we missed that chance or to see how sth is just wasting our time away.
absolutely agree… we seem to miss the present moment so much. gotta live for now!
Yup, that first hour or so of the day is always special, the best, quiet and full of the potential of the day to come….a morning is expectant (like a child), and the evening an old person (pensive)
Beautifully stated. And so true. Thanks for commenting!