Transcendence-An Ode to Self-Love
They say there isn’t anything love can’t do. There isn’t anything love can’t cure. Where we are constantly emptying our glass for others… how often do we fill it back?
In life, you will find yourself struggling in your relationships, your job, or just finding a purpose in life.
When suddenly, the colorful world melts into monochrome shades. Your canvas is left barren, waiting for something or someone to add color to it again.
When love dries up, you aren’t left with options and keep sinking into the doldrums of despair and longing. You cannot love someone if you can’t love yourself.
Author Marsha Roopchand-Walker emphasizes the importance of self-love in her book, Transcendence: A Woman’s Guide on How to Heal, Discover Self-Love for Better Health, Happiness, and Abundance.
Healing
Broken, battered, and bruised… life has a knack for kicking you when you’re down. Band-aids start to peel off just when you know you’ve begun to heal, only to find the gash bigger than it initially was. We will always end up unfulfilled if we rely on external factors for healing.
The healing must come from within. We then allow ourselves to pour back into the empty glass due to life’s troubles.
Marsha Roopchand-Walker etches the various components of self-love in her prolific book.
Self-Acceptance
Self-acceptance paves the foundation for all of the various practices you can follow to speed up your healing process.
If you don’t truly accept yourself, everything else will crumble. A skyscraper touching the clouds can’t withstand the winds unless the foundations are strong.
Similarly, we will always falter if we do not truly accept ourselves in the grand scheme of things.
Society has made it hard for us to breathe. Unrealistic standards and unreasonable expectations leave us no choice but to conform.
This conformity is not only harmful but toxic to our very foundation. Seeking validation from society will only leave a hollow space in your heart.
The only acceptance you need is of yourself. That is the first step to self-love.
Loving the skin, you’re in
How often have you looked in the mirror and honestly told yourself that you are beautiful?
How often have you tried to become the pretty girl who consistently garners the most attention in class?
“Pretty girl is perfect.”
“Pretty girl mustn’t have any problems in her life.”
“Wish I had her hair.”
What’s funny is that the Pretty Girl wishes she could have her daily meal in solace. She wishes she had an escape from life’s problems. The Pretty Girl seeks an escape, too… she wants to be someone else.
How can you truly love yourself if you keep self-sabotaging over the standards others have set for you?
Childhood trauma and the general nature of society have a major role to play in an individual make up. We only find some positive endorsements of self-love, including the likes of Lizzo, Winnie Harlow, and Halima Aden.
These personalities help their viewers realize that true beauty lies in confidence. It’s fascinating to see someone so content with himself that they uplift everyone else around them. The aura you radiate is what matters. One can never achieve that through feelings of self-sabotage and loathing.
True beauty is loving yourself through your imperfections, genuinely owning them, and bettering yourself for nothing and no one but yourself.
Break the cycle and lead your life into the catharsis you so seek.
Gratitude
If self-acceptance is the foundation, gratitude is the glue that keeps it all together.
Marsha Roopchand-Walker quotes, “Keeping an attitude of gratitude is everything.”
We, humans, are inclined to always look for the next best thing in our lives. We will never be satisfied with what we have now.
Genuine gratitude helps mitigate the effects of negative thoughts and truly helps us focus on the good in life. Marsha adds that she had to learn to be grateful and more appreciative of her life.
If happiness is a door, gratitude is the key. And you are just a flick of the wrist away from achieving just that.
However, it isn’t easy. Just like any other skill, gratitude must be practiced to remain consistent. Change never begins overnight. You need to reprogram yourself and truly shift your mindset.
But one thing is for sure, by the end of it, you will be grateful for how things panned out.
An ode
Marsha Roopchand-Walker’s book is one of the very few that is authentic in its message and effective in its delivery. An ode that transcends typical notions of what we believe self-love is. The inspirational narrative is based on deep self-reflection that teaches the women of today to own themselves truly and not let anything get in the way of their happiness. Prosperity begins when and if you allow it to.
Grab your copy and begin your journey toward transcendence today!
