Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024
Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
The trouble with loving our neighbor as ourselves is that most of us do.
— Toni W.
Many people find it difficult to care about others as much as they care about themselves. The problem for us is quite different.
We can only give what we have. And the only love we have to give is the love that we’ve experienced for ourselves. That is our problem. Many of us have learned to feel shame at every turn, to expect abandonment, to look at the world through dark glasses. We haven’t experienced ourselves as worthy objects of love — not often enough and not long enough. So the love we accord to ourselves is often tentative, conditional, halfhearted, and downright skimpy. Many of us are only able to love ourselves as long as it doesn’t inconvenience or cause pain to others.
If we want to have more to give to others, we must first give more to ourselves.
Today, I will think about all the reasons I am lovable. I will demonstrate this love in all my dealings.
Hazelden Foundation
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