Self Love is the Best Love

It’s that time again! Another Valentine’s Day tomorrow. That Hallmark American holiday that has been exported to countries all over the world. They even celebrate it here in Greece! The day that usually people who are single dread as it reminds them they are alone. I had written a blog post about a few years ago about how I actually love Valentine’s Day. I have been single on this day more times than I’ve been in a couple and I still adore this holiday. As I had explained before (feel free to find the post in my previous blogs), I don’t find this day to only be about romantic love but to be about all love. This is my favorite day to wake up and text my girlfriends, call my sisters and my mom, my nieces and OK even the men in my life to wish them a Happy Valentines Day. This is the day that everything is pink and red and festive! To be honest, no country does Hallmark Holidays like the states. Here in Greece there’s more of a subtle theme to these holidays, they aren’t immediately in your face because let’s be honest, this is an American thing although people do celebrate their names days on this day as the Valentinas all over the world celebrate on this day. On this day, I have learned over the years that above all else, I celebrate the love that have learned for myself. There is a saying that until you can learn to love yourself you will never find happiness and joy. Oh boy could this not be more true. I started down this path of finding self love about 7 years ago. I knew something needed to change, that I was too critical and that the life I wanted could truly be mine and I could be more happy if I could just learn to love myself. It’s been a process to say the least, I’m not sure it’s ever a finished process either, more like a constant work in progress. But I can honestly say 7 years later that I love myself truly. Sure there’s still times that I am angry and disappointed with myself. Days that I look in the mirror and all I see are the beginnings of middle age with the start of wrinkles on my face and wisps of grey in my hair, but I have found a way to turn this around in my mind. Every time I see a wrinkle I try and tell myself that wrinkle has years of history and a story, a laugh line, an expression line from my days of singing or even telling a funny story and laughing with friends. There is a song that was introduced to me over a decade ago by Brandi Carlile called “The Story”. The opening lyrics to the song are, “all of these lines across my face, tell you the story of who I am, so many stories of where I’ve been and how I got to where I am.” This is now what I think every time I see those pesky little lines start to form on my face. The truth is, it took so many years of turning the negative self talk around in my head and I’ve finally come to a place where it’s starting to become automatic.

It has been a rough 2 years for literally everyone on this planet. It has been a time for so many trying to just get by and to believe that everything is going to be OK again. Here’s the secret, knowing that nothing lasts forever, that everything is ever changing proves that these times won’t last forever. It has been now over a decade since I left the world of theater behind and ventured into a new career path in search of a new life for myself and I can truly say on this Valentine’s Day I have found the love that I needed to get me to the place that I am in now. Happy and content starting a new life in a place I am absolutely in love with. There will definitely be times that this feeling won’t last and I will have to try and find the strength again to look in the mirror and remind myself how far I have come and how brave I have been, but for now I am going to relish in the fact that on this Valentine’s Day, while I am yet again still single, I have so much love all around me. The beautiful flowers in my little village. The baby goats and lamb I see every day on my walk. The amazing friendships I have made in Greece and the new life I have that I have been dreaming about for so long and is finally coming true. And none of this would be possible without the love that I found (and still finding) for myself. Self love is the best love. Happy Valentines Day!

“In order to love who you are you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you”

— Unknown