You have people in your life who love you. Yes, you do.
Some of us have a larger tribe of loving peeps around us than others, but we all have people who care about us.
How good are you at knowing this and accepting it?
Do you recognize the kind gestures, the positive comments or the looks of admiration and appreciation? Or do they fly over your head unnoticed? Do you dismiss or trivialize the caring behavior of others? Is it difficult for you to believe that you are cared for deeply?
Can you internalize the love that others feel for you? Can you feel it and take it into your heart? Do you truly believe it? Do you understand that they feel for you what you feel for them?
Truly recognizing, accepting and internalizing another’s love can be a most profound experience.
It might not come easy for you. It takes practice to tone and strengthen your self-appreciation muscles.
Some people literally have no “receptor sites” for receiving love. There is no place for love to land. When it comes at them it does not stick. Their brain is not wired to accept the love that is extended to them.
Why? Because they have come to believe that they are not lovable, or don’t deserve love. When you deeply hold the conviction that you are not worthy of love, or that you are flawed in some way that makes you unlovable, no matter how much love comes your way, you will not, CAN NOT see it. You don’t have the emotional capacity to experience it.
Do you know people like that? That no matter how much you tell them you love them, they just can’t take it in? You know what I am talking about, don’t you? It is often clear as day to the observer. They are unable to receive the loving kindness you express. You can feel their pain and see that underneath their “modesty” is a wounded soul and a damaged self-image.
I recently had an experience where I recognized the love that was present for me from an unexpected source. I had an epiphany when I was able to see it so clearly for what it was, and then allow myself to internalize it and then hold it in my heart as an expression of loving kindness toward myself.
This is truly what it’s all about. When we can fully accept the gift of the love we receive from others, we can embrace our beloved self. And once we identify the inner self as a loved one, we expand our capacity to love others.
The continuous loop nourishes itself and love abounds. There is no longer the distinction or the duality of “the loved” and “the lover,” for they are one and the same. And there is simply……love.
