just as a star explodes in grandeur our parting produced the energy to begin again - Yung Pueblo

The understanding of self-love that makes the most sense to me is much more internal. It is the way you relate to yourself with compassion, honesty, and openness. It is meeting every part of yourself with unconditional acceptance, from the parts that you find easy to love, to the rough and imperfect parts that you try to hide from. Self-love begins with acceptance, but it does not stop there. Real self-love is a total embrace of all that you are while simultaneously acknowledging that you have room to grow and much to let go of.

I spent so much time
creating versions of myself
that were far from the truth,
characters i would perform
depending on who i was around

layers that could hide
the inner dance of turmoil,
between my lack of confidence,
the pain i did not understand,
and the uneasiness that comes with reaching out to others for the
love that i was not giving myself

(before the healing)

i want a love that doesn't break
one that gives me water
when i am consumed by fire
one that offers me shelter
when i am lose
one that helps me see
that the hero
i am looking for
is me