The Fine Print of Self Love with Chronic Illness

To put it simply? There isn't any.

When you commit to loving yourself, the contract doesn't come with any fine print. You love you - your body, your mind, that finicky bloated belly (and those big-worded diagnoses smack dab in the middle of your medical file).

Don't search for exemption clauses or "hidden" requirements - you find won't them. You can be sobbing yourself to sleep every night over the loneliness of a new city. You can "fail" to lose (or gain!) those last five pounds for two years straight. You can be broken - in body through chronic illnesses, in mind with inner demons, or in spirit from heartache.

And that brokenness doesn't preclude self love. In fact, it can promote it.

As Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said:

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassions, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."

But you can do your part in becoming beautiful by deciding to love yourself today.


*This is part of a new blog series I'm starting known as "Mindful Morsels," which will feature short posts with a focus on mindfulness and mental health. Most will have first appeared at Bayart.org, which I co-author.*

*Also found at Wow Me Wednesday, Let's Get Real Friday Party, Saturday Share Fest and RunningwithSpoons*

What fine print do you often attach to loving yourself? Let me know below!