5 Reasons I Love Me So Much!

1. I Am the Closest Person to Me

No matter where I go, how far I travel, how much distance I put between myself and loved ones, I cannot escape me. Imagine if you are forced to be with another human being for the rest of your life, wouldn't you try to find some way to like them, fall in love with them? For forty plus years of my life, I didn't give much thought to the relationship that I have with myself. I took it for granted. I disregarded the cornerstones that allow relationships to thrive – trust, communication, acceptance and encouragement. I continually work on all of those facets with myself now. I trust that I have purpose, and I am on the right path. I am persistent in my effort to actualize all of who I am because I trust my development and direction. I spend time communicating with me through prayer, meditation, writing, speaking positive affirmations and researching aspects of who I am. I accept all of me, and I celebrate every part, even if I have to party all by myself! And like Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers told us, sometimes you have to encourage yourself! We all have goals, dreams and aspirations. I am a believer in mine, and sometimes that is all it takes, because me, myself, and I are the coach, the star player and the cheer squad. Gooooooo ME! Start cheering people.

2. I Am a Masterpiece 

Imagine you went to a museum and saw a painting. Let’s say you weren't particularly moved by it but you thought it was okay. Upon closer inspection, you realized it was an original Van Gogh. Now you cannot believe your eyes, it takes you a moment to catch your breath. You are standing in a room with a masterpiece, a priceless work of art, you are moved to alert everyone in your party what you have discovered and you spend the next few minutes staring in awe at what is clearly a masterpiece; not because the painting has changed, but because you recognize the creator as a master. I cannot believe my eyes, it takes me a moment to catch my breath when I think about the depth and breadth of my greatness – not because I have changed but because I finally recognize my Creator is the Master. I am moved to alert all to what I have discovered, and I invite you to stare in awe at the Master’s work. It's in your mirror.

3. I Am Free

I stopped packing, labeling and delivering myself in a neat little conformist box based on what he, she and society say about me. I am free, liberated, created in the Image of God. I am a spirit; that is my true identity, everything else is made up. As long as you identify with your spirit, it doesn't matter how anyone else judges your flesh. When God introduced me to my true self, I was taken aback by my beauty and brilliance.

I refuse to ever be subjugated to a race, gender, religion, nationality, you name it, again. Remember in elementary school, when it was time to play a game, the teacher would group you by numbers. Everyone would go around the room and count – 1,2,3 and then repeat 1,2,3. All the ones would be on a team and all the twos would be on a team and so on. Once the game was over, you would be go back to being you. Okay, the game is over! Oly oly in come free! You are no longer a number, statistic, or demographic. Stop playing a role and start loving the authentic you.

4. I am the one and only me

When I would hear, there is no one else quite like you, I took that to mean there is something special about my person, and there is. But I have come to realize that, there is no one else quite like you, means there is no one else that can do the things that I can do. It is less about me being unique for the sake of self-celebration and more about me being unique for the sake of service. I have a purpose, and if I don’t fulfill my purpose I am letting down the universe. There are men, women and children waiting on me to do my thing, and I have been so caught up in my feelings that I almost stopped making it do what it do. What if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, or Mother Teresa gave up? Where would our world be?  Now take a moment and think of all of the people who actually have given up, even if it were only 10 greats in history. How much further could we be towards world peace, global conservation, space travel, medicinal cures, teleportation, making sure men and women receive the same wage for the same work... I have a job to do; I cannot do it feeling like I am not enough or I was born the wrong race, gender or class. I am uniquely created for such a time as this, and so were you. I am waiting to hear your music, use your app, vote you into office, and celebrate your historical 1^st.

5. I Am Responsible for Me

The comedienne, Katt Williams, so eloquently explained, "Self-esteem is the esteem of your MFN self."  Many people look for outward validation to gauge how they should feel about themselves. This is a lose lose. When we don't receive positive affirmation from our parents, significant other, children, friends, boss, co-workers etc., our esteem dips because we feel like we are not enough, we don't measure up. When we do jump through all the necessary fiery hoops to be liked, appreciated and applauded our esteem dips because we lose sight of who we are and begin to feel more like a show puppet rather than a human being. You will find your value in being, just being. It isn't in your accomplishments, talents, abilities or promotions. It isn't in your prominent spouse, successful children, lavish car, house in the hills. Just stop and take some time to be, acknowledge the wonder of your existence. We praise God for all that He has done and all that He will do in our lives, but acknowledge that if He didn't do another thing, He has already done more than enough. Take a moment and evaluate how you would feel about yourself, if you didn't do one more thing while on this earth or receive one more trapping of this world. Can you acknowledge the miraculous miracle that you are? My birth is more than enough. I am excited about my existence. I am in awe of this instant. I relish right now. I am in love with her and she with me.