Self Love Poetry: For Thinkers & Feelers

I finally found my rhythm when I realized that even the steps backward were part of the dance.

We make it look easy. (It wasn’t. It isn’t. It never will be.)

Judging yourself is like throwing down an anchor when you're trying to swim.

Loving yourself isn’t about being happy all the time. In fact, it’s the opposite: it’s about loving even your sadness. It’s about claiming everything you’ve been through and everything you are—including your pain, your trauma, your mistakes, your wounds, your lowest lows, your shame, your regrets. It’s a love founded in integration and acceptance. When you can love it all, you will finally experience peace— within yourself and with your world.

Fear of confrontation used to silence me. Self love raised my voice. Fear of failure used to immobilize me. Self love emboldened me. Fear of judgment used to consume me. Self love made me whole. Fear of abandonment used to anchor me. Self love helped me set sail.

All is not lost; you’re still on your way. Keep going.

If you’re only earning someone’s love by being less yourself, you’ve lost more than you’ve gained.

My wish for you: to be alone without being lonely to reflect without regret to anticipate without fear to love without dependence to give without expectation to grow without attachment to embrace yourself without exception to be here now without distraction to live joyfully without condition to choose yourself without guilt, shame, doubt, or hesitation.

I felt my feelings, and my heart said thank you. I spoke my truth, and my mind said thank you. I moved my energy, and my body said thank you. And because I did, my world said thank you, too.

If you feel stuck, move. Move your energy around. Through dance. Through conversation with someone who needs to hear your truth. Through honest words written on a page. Through fingers passing through an ocean wave or planting in the dirt. Move until your energy feels free. Unstuck. Vibrant. Resplendent. Powerful. Holy. Alive.

This was it. The reset she had been waiting for. But it didn’t happen as she had anticipated. It wasn’t luck or fate or a gift from the gods. It wasn’t circumstantial. It wasn’t handed down. It was earned. A thousand moments of self love that together formed the mountain she now stood upon, as she looked down upon the valley of opportunity she was finally ready to claim.

I thought this would be the year I get everything I want. Now I know this is the year I appreciate everything I have.

The thing you are avoiding is most likely the key to you fully claiming your worth. Go there.

Sure.* Okay.* Fine.* *Fake words we should ban from our vocabularies that actually mean not okay, not at all.*

Once you can accept that the thing you want most might not happen, you can also accept that it just might happen, too. And either way, you will be okay.

Choosing yourself doesn’t make self care easier. It takes WORK to show up for yourself every day. But it does make sacrificing, neglecting, doubting, and compromising yourself harder. You simply won’t settle for that anymore.

If your hard work feels unseen, stop making it look so effortless.

I felt abandoned so I embraced my own company.

If life feels impossible, remember: if you change, everything changes.

When you realize you’re the “one,” life becomes less about searching and more about living.

I thought 2020 would be the year I got everything I wanted. Now I know 2020 is the year I appreciate everything I have.

Sometimes just when you think you have it all figured out, it all falls apart. This isn’t a test; you weren’t naïve. Life isn’t linear. Blessings aren’t linear. Progress isn’t linear. SPACE All is not lost; you’re still on your way. Keep going.

Turning down help is paying full price for something that’s on sale.

The best way to cope with an uncertain future is to be fully present.

it’s only when you embrace all parts of yourself that your authentic self can work her magic and enable you to make the impact on the world only you were born to make.

If women didn’t forget, diminish, or dull their pain, the human race would cease to exist. But if women forget, diminish, or dull their joy, the human race will cease to exist, too.

We wake up early. We exercise. We eat well. We work on healing our trauma. We smile. We drink water. We water our plants. We make time to volunteer. We excel at work. We excel as parents. As aunts. As friends. As caretakers. We work on our desire. We live by gratitude and die by kindness. We make eye contact. We limit our screen time. We look damn good. We moisturize. We exfoliate. We manicure our nails and tame our hair. We smell good. We read books.

New dreams take time. If the door has closed on the future you thought you’d live, give yourself time to dream up a new one.