Do you know what the greatest love of all is?

It isn't the love of a mother although that is certainly one of the greatest. It is not the love of a Savior or God although theologians will argue that point with you. It is also not the love of friends, a lover or a social group although those can be as outstanding as ever.

The greatest love is loving yourself. Now hold your horses. I didn't mean narcissism. There is a vast difference between loving who you are and making yourself the center of the universe. The latter is putting yourself on a pedestal and setting yourself up as the epitome of perfection, flawlessness and the absolute point of reference. Unfortunately, that is nothing but pride, conceit and vanity. It makes you feel you have no wrongs and lifts you so high only to slam you down hard on the pavement with the entire world laughing at your humiliation and shame.

On the other hand, really loving who you are will bring you happiness. Learning to love yourself will unmask who you really are and your flaws, imperfections, inabilities without diminishing your self-esteem. It will uncover your strengths, talents and abilities in order to give you self-confidence. It will make you look beyond whatever you have gone through that may have slanted your views, skewed your opinions or shattered your beliefs and restore your self-respect. It will help you decide whatever you choose to become and give you the self-assurance that you can be that person.

Learn to love who you are and you will be able to look beyond the past into the future and beat a path to it. When you do then you will begin to feel the greatest love and become happy despite any adversity that comes your way.