There are seasons when loving yourself feels effortless—
and others when it feels like a quiet act of resistance.
When tenderness must be chosen again and again,
not because life is gentle,
but because you deserve gentleness even here.
Self-love is not a reward for having arrived.
It is the steady light you carry
while you are still finding your way.
Words of Light
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Mark 12:31
Reflection
You cannot give love in fullness if you are disconnected from yourself.
Not the sustaining kind. Not the healing kind. Not the kind that endures.
Self-love is not indulgence.
It is alignment.
It is the practice of tending to your inner life with the same attentiveness you offer others.
It is listening when your body is tired.
Honoring when your spirit is weary.
Choosing compassion when your inner voice has learned to be harsh.
To love yourself is to recognize that your needs matter—not because you have earned rest, grace, or kindness, but because you are human. Because you are God’s creation. Because your well-being is not optional.
When you nurture yourself, you are not withdrawing from the world.
You are replenishing the wellspring from which love flows.
Ask yourself gently:
Am I pouring from overflow—or from depletion?
What would it look like to choose myself with the same reverence I extend to others?
Pause and Consider
Take a moment to reflect without judgment:
Where have I been giving more than I’ve been receiving?
What does love from myself look like right now—not in theory, but in practice?
What boundary, rest, or truth is asking to be honored?
Let your answers rise slowly.
This is not an interrogation—it is an invitation.
Affirmation
I honor and nurture myself with love,
knowing that my well-being is sacred.
I am worthy of care, compassion, and rest—
exactly as I am, in this moment.
Peace,
Rita
Rita Lynn Berry, EdS, LCMHC, is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and the founder of NewVision Counseling and Consulting Services, PLLC. She is also the creator of the Journey to Me™ program and Mend n Muse Media™, where she shares tools and reflections that support healing, resilience, and self-love.