Have you told yourself “I love you” lately?

I know, it’s hard to slow down your daily routine to get the words out. I’m still learning how to, myself. But not only do I like the idea of saying it, but acting on it.

Every time you break from a stressful event. Slow down in your work habits. Eat or drink something healthy yet filling. Read, or write a book or poetry. Draw, yoga, even send funny, insightful, flirtatious, or romantic memes to people. You get the idea.

If you’re one that’s grown up in a world where love was/is expressed in a blend of genuine and hurtful behaviors, it’s okay to take your time in performing purer self-love. It’s a foreign art that the body may reject at first, fearing that it’ll do the same harm as hurtful displays of it have done to you.

Eventually, you’ll learn that it won’t. It’ll be the replacement of the love that you wish you felt in those times where anger represents the absence of true love.

It will protect you, console you, and might even spark bravery in facing those memories tainted by love’s corruption.

The more you speak of it from the heart, the more you project it from your healing experience, the better your vision becomes for a future surrounded by people that feel the same. Even in times of legit stress, you’ll all come together and smile at the shared sense of love you’ll never let go of.

If you’ve already begun, don’t stop. The journey is always the best part.