Are We Focusing on Loving the Wrong Person?

".....I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie Bradshaw

This quote is empowering in a way that I did not expect.....empowering because it's not from a place of pain or bitterness regarding love, it's from a place of revelation and acceptance. Learning to love oneself, genuine self-love is elusive and harder to grasp than one may think.

In our 20s, we are so pressed at finding Mr/Miss Right before our clocks start ticking at age 30. We make simple mistakes, love hard, and fall even harder! We are all over the place with no clear destination except to find the "end all, be all" loves of our lives. I honestly can not remember not 1 chapter of my life in my 20s where I focused on ME. (I am almost embarrassed to speak/type that aloud) I actually lived HARD AND FAST, making simple mistakes with huge consequences.....but now in my 30s as a single woman, "me" keeps popping into the plan without an effort.

I want to live out my dreams, explore my weaknesses, improve on some of the chore characteristics that are Erin Danielle Bush. Gone are the days of feeling the need to be loved unconditionally in order to love ourselves in the same manner.

Seeking validation from others has easily transitioned into self-affirmations. Fear melts away and you embrace that inner voice that you have ignored or muffled for years....the voice of strength, the voice of love.

Go ahead and love yourself ladies, be good to yourself. Replenish yourself.

Smooches & Self-Love Quick Claps

Not one drop of my self-respect is dependent on your acceptance of me. - Quincy Jones