SELF LOVE

Do you ever feel like you aren’t good enough? Pretty enough? Worth enough? Listen.. I get how you feel. That’s how I’ve been feeling for most of my life but now, it’s time for a change. Why are we putting so much pressure on ourselves to please society?

I’ve always felt the need to impress other people so I can feel accepted but why am I doing it for them? I should really be thinking & caring about my own happiness, my own self. It’s hard to be growing up in a generation where you need to look a certain way. However, what’s most important is what’s on the inside (I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true). I feel like people are being blinded & are missing out on what true beauty is.

 As most of you may know, I’m insecure about how I physically look but I need to keep telling myself that I’m worth it & I’m good enough. If I keep bashing myself down then, what good is it going to do? I’ll just be stuck in the same mindset & cycle. That’s why I need to make a change on how I view myself. I need to start loving myself. All my flaws, all my imperfections. Cus guess what, they’re apart of me & I don’t need anyone’s approval on “what’s good” and “what’s not”.

 To be honest, if we’re going to make any progress & if we’re going to start loving ourselves for who we are then, we need to make the first step & stop putting ourselves down & comparing to others. Don’t get me wrong, it’s so easy to wish you had something that someone else has & there’s nothing wrong with being a bit envious (not in a hateful way). You know, it’s human nature to feel a little jealous but if you’re going to slam yourself down and keep saying “I’m not good enough, I’m so ugly, I wish I looked like him / her” then, that’s not okay! Stop worrying about the outside, what’s most important is the inside. If you’re healthy, happy & everything’s working properly then, you’re all good! It is hard & I know it’s going to take time to feel comfortable in your own skin but as long as you’re slowly starting to change the attitude towards yourself then, you’ll start making a progress & feeling a lot more confident in your body.

 I just wish people would stop being so discourteous with each other & pointing certain things out. Cus let’s be real, if people didn’t point out certain things that they think is “wrong” then, people would stop trying to alter themselves.

Overall, the message I’m trying to get across is that you are beautiful the way that you are and what’s on the inside matters most.

 One thing is changing yourself for you & another is changing yourself for others. Once you start changing yourself for others, you’ll never grow as a person. You’re basically living your life for them and not for you. We need to realise what’s more important, it’s our own selves. We just need to grow as people & learn to love ourselves more. Accept our flaws & live a life for us. Not for society.

 You don’t want to lose yourself in this whole world of beauty & the dumb standards that come with it.

 You’re all loved & beautiful. Remember that

Lyds x

For more: www.lydsonline.com

WHAT TO DO WHEN NO-ONE UNDERSTANDS HOW YOU'RE FEELING: INSEEP STILLENT TREMBLE-WRAP, BUMPBRUSH AND RESTILAX

Have you ever felt totally alone?

It's as if no-one is speaking your language.

As much as you try to express how you are feeling, and your friends nod obligingly, you feel like you're missing the mark; no one understands.

It can sometimes feel as if even God is not on your side. 

Psalm 88 expresses the feeling of abandonment well:

But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?

But soon, often through the healing prayers and conversation of those who've walked the same road themselves, comes healing and we can echo Psalm 147:

He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

In this poem I've tried to put some of this into words:

(Those of you for whom English is your second language, don't panic; I've made up a lot of these words to emphasise just how difficult it is to express our feelings and how baffling we can appear to those around us.  But God understands.)

His stillent, smally whispers ooze into my mindconscious
like a dusk-sweet hotchoc, 
like a mocha sunrise welcoming wide
with embracements louder than fearage, 
not instructioning, but come in mending,
pushing enlightenmentations, praisements and incouragabilities
that I inseep onto my naked black and bruises.  
I tremble-wrap his echo within my born-worn soul
but he stainleaks through my weak cardio
when I bumpbrush against heartbeatings as fraggi-brittle as mine.
His hushed shade cools and breaths an enveloping: 
           "I understand." 
And so I restilax in his softly stronging arms.

Sometimes we know we're not making any sense; we just need someone to understand. I have a God for that.

If you identify with any of this, please know that you have a God who knows you and understands you to your core.  I encourage you to read the Psalms where you'll find those who have walked your path or something like it. And I encourage you to find friends who can walk with you. 

You will find fellow travellers at Redeemer, a community of Christians who value honest living and who worship a God who knows us.  You'll be most welcome.