more book stuff

there's quote after quote i can put in here from anita moorjani's
book (dying to be me) about our 'true magnificence' and how
everything we need is inside us.

it's funny, when i started out on my journey to find the real in
my life and to learn who i was and find self love, i had a mantra
i used over and over and over again -

'everything i need is inside me.'

man, i musta said that about 10,000 bazilliongillon times.

i saw how often i looked outside of myself for answers for love
or appreciation or compassion or whatever....

i would say that line, then no sooner finish it and look outside
myself for something yet again.

i'd drag myself back to the thought and say it over and over.

over and over again.

it's been a lotta years traveling down this road now.

when i first started out, certain themes repeated themselves constantly.
'honesty' and 'trust' popped up so many times i wanted to fling them
thru the window.

lately, the repeating theme for me is 'self love.'

i can just see how a depth in that will change everything.

i smiled when i got to the end of her book and in the question and
answer section, sure enough, someone had to ask about the self love stuff.
there's some kinda idea that's just taken root that self love is selfish.
she has a beautiful response to this which includes this thought -

'To say 'i love you' when I have no matching emotion for myself is
playacting. It's not real. Affection for the self and others is the same thing.
We're all One - all interconnected. Having an awareness of our own divinity
can help us to see our magnificent and worthiness for love without conditions.
once we understand this, offering the same to everyone becomes much easier.'

i thought that was so beautiful.

and i know, for myself, i've found that the more i learn about loving another,
the more i learn about loving myself. there's no question in my mind that they
are directly connected.