The litany of unhealthy working practices and imbalanced economic solutions at large in the world today – not to mention the destruction and devastation of environment, community and land witnessed at the extreme ends of capitalism – are not the workings of a society that loves itself. Indeed, if we accept some of the more startling predictions made for mankind’s future, it would seem that far from being a species that loves and honours its own life, we are actually on a trajectory towards self-annihilation. Regardless of whether we believe this, it is undeniable that much is out of alignment in today’s world  - and it all starts with an imbalance in the way we are relating to ourselves. Inspired by Valentine’s Day, I wanted to talk this month about self-love, and its power to create and inspire an economic solution that we want and deserve.

A little bit of love…

Self-love truly is the essence of our experience of life.  It is the cornerstone of our reality – with it we feel empowered, impassioned, alive – and without it, nothing or noone can help us feel better about ourselves.  We feel disconnected, detached and alone.  “Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else“, says Eleanor Roosevelt.  No amount of surface tinkering can help you when something is awry within the deeper aspects of your being. “A loving person lives in a loving world,” says Ken Keyes, “A hostile person lives in a hostile world.  Everyone you meet is your mirror“.  If we want to change the world we must first act to change ourselves.

In my own journey towards creating a conscious life and career, I was taken deeply into the parts of myself that lacked self-love.  I was (and still am) taught many stark lessons by the universe about the primacy of my own relationship with myself, and for the critical need for self-love.  I understood that if I wanted to help others I first had to help myself – and, that in order to create true meaning and passion in my life, no stone could be left unturned in my exploration relationship with myself.  Whilst this process continues to unfold, it fuels and excites my journey – and provides me with much of the grounding and material that I need to do the work that I do.

So what’s the answer…?

Simple answers rarely suffice to answer complex questions, and nowhere more so than the multi-dimensional reality that we live in. Students of metaphysics are known to say that a simple life can be had, but only first by embracing this complexity.  To this end, my intention here is not to provide an all-encompassing solution, but rather to point out a simple starting point, which if embraced, I believe could bring humanity much hope and relief.

Imagine a world where each and every one of us felt empowered to not only know our own mind, but to take healthy and reasoned action in its defence? Where individuals felt confident and rooted in their our own self-worth, so that they consistently operated from a place of passion and deep integrity. Where free from self-imposed restrictions and limitations we were able to go forth into the world and create what mattered to us most?

In such a world do you think we would would stand for solutions that compromised our integrity and did not support and nourish the life we valued above all else? Would we allow others to treat us disrespectfully or tolerate economic practices that undermined our health, our environment or our wellbeing?  Of course not.  With a healthy sense of our own life and worth, and the personal power needed to defend it, we would act with love and passion in all that we did.  And the solutions and outcomes that we created would reflect this. “The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others,” says Sonya Friedman – and nowhere is this more visible than in the macro solutions we as a collective create.

So in this Valentine month, my heartfelt desire for us all, would be to undertake a journey deeper into our own exploration of self and love, and in doing so bring forth more of what the world so desperately needs. I believe that each and every one of us has a powerful role to play in co-creating the solutions that we are in search of, and it all starts within. Self-love is not itself the answer – but with self-love I believe we can find the answer.

To self-love and the miracle owe can create…

Until next time!