Together with Anke, I’m sitting by the delightful pool of Mein Schiff 6 in the dreamy Cozumel, Mexico, enjoying a pleasant 32 degrees. A couple in their late 20s walks past us in light swimwear and settles at the edge of the long pool. Both are well-tattooed, and my gaze falls upon a tattoo on the lower back of the young lady. “Love Me” it says in black ink. Quickly, I take a photo under Anke’s surprised gaze. Before I receive a questioning look or the eyebrow of death, I say, “It says ‘Love Me.’ I’ll write my fascination letter on Sunday about that.”
What do you think happens when someone doesn’t love themselves? What kind of person can he or she only attract? Right. Other people who also don’t love themselves. The fact that the lady doesn’t appreciate herself in her natural form is evident in her numerous tattoos, piercings, and scarred upper arms. All signs that she doesn’t find herself lovable in her natural state. Probably, she has experienced unpleasant things that emotionally closed her off in her past. Because someone who consciously cuts into their own skin is usually emotionally so “dead” that only extreme pain helps to feel even a semblance of something. Similar to our horror movies theme from last week. But I have a suspicion. No matter what she changes externally, it will not fill the inner emptiness, which is fundamentally the issue. Therefore, many people tend to change more and more externally and wish, hope or pray that the actual issue changes. The missing love within.
What is the solution to love oneself more? Interestingly, I open my second German book, “Re-Connect to Love and to Myself” with a quote from the wonderful Eckhart Tolle. He says:
“When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.”
How do I reconnect with my inner stillness or self-love? Two pages later in my book, I give you four ideas. One of them is: “To admit that only one person is responsible for everything you call your life.”
Only if I take full responsibility for my past life and all my decisions do I have a chance to accept myself as I am. Because who I am now is the result of all my past decisions, right? And if I realize that every decision was made solely by me (or at least I allowed others to decide for me), then I am one step closer to my goal of more self-love. Awareness is the first step to healing. Recognizing that through my actions in the past, I am who I am today. Therefore, I can change in the same way if I want to be happier, more joyful, or more loving tomorrow. I am allowed to make different decisions. That means I am allowed to think differently about myself and the world around me. Because an action is always driven by a thought.
If I were to meet the lady again and she aims for a change, I would suggest adding just one letter to the tattoo. Because the tattoo is almost perfect. I would add the letter “I”. Then the sentence would become: “I Love Me.”
Once again, something to thing about for the week.
Sunny greetings from Costa Rica.
