Know Yourself, Love Yourself

Knowing yourself is part of loving yourself. Do you know yourself? Do you really love yourself? When you look at what is in your heart behind the smokescreens do you love what you know to be there? Do you know yourself?

Recently I went to have lunch with my loving husband. We ventured to one of his favorite places to grab a quick bite. I usually notice people and their demeanor, especially in customer service roles. As a former customer service job skills trainer I have had a great deal of experience monitoring and coaching performance of service to customers. I look for reasons to applaud good customer service.

I immediately noticed the various customer interactions as I moved through the line toward the counter to order our lunch at this popular eatery. When I saw a young woman (I will call her Jaz) working with customers, I saw a light emanating from her. Something genuine and tangible that seemed to say to me “I know who I am.” Do you know yourself?

As Jaz spoke freely on the video above about her heartfelt thoughts. She had no time to review or rehearse her answers. She only knew that I would ask her about herself. She was asked:

•             When I ask you who are you, what comes to mind?
•             Do you love yourself?
•             What truths have you learned about beauty?
•             What lies about yourself were you taught to believe?
•             What is the most important lesson you have learned about life?
•             Who has been the most influential person in your life?

Take a moment, review those questions for yourself. Record your answers as they come to you.

Did it take you awhile to answer? Are you certain about your responses or are you having an internal discussion with yourself even now? How well do you know what is in your heart? Your heart is your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind holds the essence of you. Your thoughts, your true beliefs, and sometimes secret truths are stored there. Do you know yourself?

Knowing yourself is one of the essential components of loving yourself. Do you know yourself? When I asked Jaz the questions listed above, she had barely a moment of hesitation before answering. She appeared to be transparent and free of a need for pretense. I believe her responses reflect her truth, her knowing herself. Yes, I am making an observation about her manner. I am judging without being judgmental. Do you know yourself?

Take a look at the video again. Listen for the level of grounding she has, think about how you might have answer the same questions in a similar situation, in the middle of your work day without warning. We are who we are at 2:00 AM when awakened from a sound sleep as we are after a full night of rest. Our hearts, our subconscious minds are always present reflecting who we are.

Who are you? Do you know yourself? Do you know what you believe about yourself? How do you separate what may be false from the truth of who you are? What influencers do you have in your life? Do you know what is in your heart? Not the blood pump your subconscious. When you are truly able to sort out what is there inside your heart you can inventory what accompanies you as you travel.

Know yourself to love yourself

Life has been called a journey. A true journey is simply moving from one place to another. As we move through our lives it is more like an odyssey . We have a number of experiences that yield knowledge. An odyssey suggests we will have experiences along the way. While both require knowledge to be gathered along the way a journey is more about the destination, point B. The odyssey is more complex than a here to there outing.

Knowing who you are, includes the tools you bring with you for the various experiences you will encounter and is essential to the successful odyssey. There are so many twists and turns, so many experiences as we travel. It is virtually impossible to begin, set the course and move directly to our targeted ending with the precision of a skilled archer. As we travel we gain knowledge the more we seek, as recorded in Luke 11:9 for example, we will find.

The reality we have at 10 or 20 or 30 is much different than when the calendar accelerates to the thirty-fifth anniversary of our birth. From puberty to adulthood there are tremendous changes in our thinking, based on our choices and experiences in life. Some of us have encountered much rough road by the time we reach puberty, as I did. For some the major rough spots came later. Either way if we were to chart the course, on our own today we would have all probably made significant changes based on our knowledge.

There is an African proverb called Sankofa, which comes to mind. It means, “Remember where you came from so that you know where you are going.” This concept has much significance for me. We can remember our successes along the way. We can remember the challenges left unconquered. We can remember the riddles solved and the enigmas which remain. As we review where we have come from we can use that information for the lessons placed before us. Do you know yourself?

Jaz will probably change some of her answers to the questions she was asked on the video. However, I do not believe her resolve for examining herself and seeking authenticity will change. As she travels along this odyssey she knows who she is now. As she moves chronologically on the calendar I believe she will know even more. I plan to keep in contact with her and witness her travels. I am excited about her odyssey!

The more we know the truth about who we are the more we are able to love ourselves.  We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have been given the tools to love. We were created with the desire to give and receive love. It is part of our purpose. Are you living in purpose? Do you know yourself? Do you truly love yourself?

Take Inventory and Take Action.

Love,

Deborah

“Lighting the path to loving your neighbor as yourself.”