Just

October 14, 2014 beautiful rainy Atlanta day 17 mile meditative run”One of the best guides to how to be self-loving is to give ourselves the love we are often dreaming about receiving from others. There was a time when I felt lousy about my over-forty financial situation, saw myself as being poor, too this, or too that. Yet I fantasized about finding a lover who would give me the gift of loved as I am. It is silly, that I would dream of someone else to offer me affirmation and the acceptance I was withholding from myself. This was a moment when the maxim "You can never love anybody if you are unable to love yourself" made clear sense. In addition, I add, "Do not expect to receive the love from someone else you do not give yourself.”
Bell Hooks