Self-Love
By Moresha Bey Turner
Growing up, I was not as fortunate as some children—I didn’t have a lot of luxuries. However, my mother did teach me many important life values, including how to treat others well. As a young child, I was a member of the Moorish Science Temple, but at the age of 12, I started attending a Baptist church, where I was baptized as a Christian. This shift allowed me to develop an open mind and learn to respect people of all religious faiths. Although I now consider myself to be more spiritual than religious, I believe my experiences with religion as a child were instrumental in shaping the person I am today.
As a child, my wholehearted acceptance of others, regardless of their background or religious beliefs, was not something that I extended to myself. I always put other people’s feelings and needs ahead of my own, worrying about what they would think of me if I prioritized myself. Other children took advantage of my passive nature and frequently picked on me. Later on, I started to exhibit aggressive behaviors because I never learned how to express my emotions properly.
I didn’t learn about the concept of self-love until I became an adult. Embracing self-love means fully accepting yourself through your ups and downs; you forgive yourself for what you did wrong and move on. Your choice to practice self-love is influenced by your values in life, your thoughts about yourself, and your relationships with other people.
Now that I’m older and wiser, I’ve become more assertive and I know that I have to put myself first before I can help anyone else. I love myself enough to acknowledge my thoughts and feelings and handle them with care. I take time to protect my mental health and engage in activities that make me feel whole, such as doing meditations, practicing yoga, singing, and giving other people a word of encouragement. I also treat myself to manicures and pedicures, and my husband and I go out to eat at nice restaurants on our birthdays.
I now understand that compassion and acceptance go both ways. That’s why I created ReeVersatility LLC, a business that offers spa services, inspirational music, and inspirational speaking. I wanted to inspire other people to love and care for themselves as well.
If there’s anything I can say to encourage someone out there, it’s be true to yourself, find what inspires you, and love yourself and all life. If you don’t love yourself, how can you truly love anyone else?
