Day 24: Love Yourself
In today’s Gospel, we receive the familiar Golden Rule (Mark 12:28-34)- Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
These instructions are in order. Only if we can love God as instructed, can we truly love our neighbor. Otherwise, our love will fall short.
The older I get, the more I understand the impact our own wounds. We all carry past trauma, insecurities, and at times, even self-hate. Both in our awareness and subconscious, we are not always that kind and gentle to ourselves.
This is why Jesus gives us the instruction to love God wholeheartedly. If we do this, we begin to heal. We will, in time, find an internal peace that allows us to cause less wounds for others.
It involves both prayer and action. It involves our cooperation- seeking spiritual direction, holy conversation, and professionals who can help us reflect on how and why we may feel a certain way. God gives us angels along the way to find that self-love and peace, to help us accept our place in God’s heart.
For example, I have come to learn that if I am on the receiving end of criticism or someone’s disapproval, I will sure enough start to have negative thoughts about how I look. I will begin to judge myself in a way that lacks any compassion and accuracy. Only recently have I learned of this connection, that I begin to, subconsciously, punish myself following the harsh words or opinions of others.
And, if I start to feel less than, I may not necessarily start to be rude or mean to others, but I do allow my light to dim and I am no longer acting out of an inner peace and joy. If I am honest, I am sure there are other times when I can be a bit cranky, too.
This takes time and work, but only if we can work on our inner stuff will we truly be the instrument of peace that God calls us to be.
At a time in our human history when division reigns, when judgment and hate fueled by fear overwhelms our society, may we return to these two commandments from Jesus. May we do the work to know and accept our place in God’s divine plan, and when we truly love our neighbors as ourselves, we do it with an unconditional love that reflects that of our God.
