I have a daughter.  She is beautiful and smart and when I was pregnant, I asked God for a smart, beautiful, independent daughter.  He did listen to me.  And sometimes, I don’t agree with her either.  And that is ok, she needs to have her own personality.  And lets be honest:  how interesting would the world be if everyone has the same exact opinion?

You can LOVE life and everything Nature gives us.  You can LOVE a person only if you LOVE them as they are, even their flaws.  If you LOVE someone “BUT”, then you don’t LOVE them.

The same applies to things.  You cannot LOVE a table, a meal or a dress.  You have to be concious of the words you use and the power words have.  You can like things, but LOVE is something else. 

And so we come full circle and I ask you, do you LOVE yourself?  Do you like who you are, no matter what  Do you care, respect and enjoy your own company?  If you do, then be happy and enjoy all the LOVE in life.  If you are not answering yes to all these questions, this is the day to start.  Today you will forgive yourself, accept who you a and begin to spend more time by yourself, with yourself, loving yourself.  The rest will come in time.

We tend to equate food with LOVE on happy and sad occasions.  Now I am not saying not to invite friends and family over to celebrate or have a meal.  What I am saying is that if you really LOVE them, there are plenty of healthy options that will taste good, make them happy and keep all of you healthy.  That is a better testament to the LOVE you feel for them, and for yourself.

And if you are sitting home alone and you decide to “clean” the fridge by eating everything in site, make sure that your choices when you shop are healthy, which will make your food LOVE fest healthier than the chocolate cake binging or strawberry short cake devouring  that you are thinking on swallowing whole.  LOVE yourself, not your food.

So many times we see a picture on a magazine and we LOVE the “look”.  It is not necessarily one thing or accessory, it is the “look”.  Well then, the look is about putting things together in a way that feels good and makes you look even better.

Take that picture (or rip the page off the magazine) and figure out what you about it.  Is it the length, the color combination, the style?  Once you figure out what you like so much, go to your closet.  Is there anything in there that can help you achieve that look?  We sometimes forget that we have elements we might own and run to the stores, only to come home and figure out we already have several pieces.

If you can do it all from your closet, great.  If you need one or two pieces and you have the rest at home, you will have more money for those pieces.  Even if you own nothing that will help with that look, you do not have to shop for a particular brand or from a particular store.  If your budget allowed, this whole conversation would be pointless.  Since budget is a consideration, have you searched the internet?  Maybe even garage sales or tag sales?  You would be amazed at the things you can find.  Be sure to stick to your plan and to inspect the items you buy carefully.  Don’t go crazy and buy more items than you really need because they only cost you $3 each.

Another option is to go to that great department store and check their discount section.  Some times, pieces get ripped (and can be repaired easily or the zipper is broken, another easy fix) and they automatically set it up in the discount section.  In the end, you don’t have to buy the exact piece, you want to adapt the look to you and to your budget.

Whatever you decide to do, do not limit yourself by saying “I can’t afford it”.  If you want to look good, there is always a way.  And don’t forget, when you look good on the outside you are displaying how good you feel on the inside and that says it all.  LOVE your look, LOVE how you feel.

As silly as it may sound, go and look at yourself in the mirror and say “I LOVE you”.  If it sounds silly or you feel weird, it means you have never done it.  Say it THREE times.  Say it loud and say it proud.  Now, for the rest of the month of September, say it every day.  Your self esteem will thank you and you will see changes in your life.  Have a healthy relationship with yourself first, and then everything will fall into place.

Don’t believe me?  Check out this video from Louise L. Hay.

We have heard it so many times.  And yet, we are not listening.  How do I know?  Look around you.  If we LOVED ourselves, there would be no physical or mental abuse.  I’m not only talking about those being abused, but about the abusers as well.  If you LOVE yourself, you know what you are worth and you don’t need to prove it to anyone.  If you LOVE yourself, there is no need to gossip or put others down because you know better.  If you LOVE yourself, you do not need to bully people into loving you.

It goes without saying that if you LOVE yourself, you recognize when someone is not treating you properly and you can get out before the second or third incident.

Learn to LOVE yourself.  Learn to nurture your body, mind and soul first.  Do it and everything else will fall into place.