I’ve said before that the world would be different—peaceful, happy, amazing really—if we all truly loved ourselves but I guess I haven’t said why it would be so different. Think about why there is unhappiness, war, killing, poverty…basically the bad stuff that affects everyone. That stuff isn’t automatic, it’s not natural or endemic to the environment…it’s created by the humans on this planet. It happens because we do not love who we are, because we refuse to accept our looks, our shapes, our love lives…and we let others manipulate us by shaming and scaring us. In advertisements and in movies, books and magazines as well as the internet, they say that if we don’t buy the right toothpaste, the right beer, the right car then we will not be loved, we won’t have a good life, we will be ostracized and alone.

Being alone, it seems, is the worst possible nightmare according to media and society.

When you love yourself—I’m not talking about conceit, or selfishness, or even narcissism—and simply accept yourself as the amazing and wonderful person you are, there are so many benefits that your life literally and spectacularly changes as well as changes the lives of those around you. Loving yourself does not mean that your life suddenly turns perfect and you become happy. No, it means that you recognize, without bias and without deceit, who you really are and what you are capable of and because of that, you’re already satisfied with the things that you can and can’t change. Why look for differences, why look for role models? When you love yourself, the first thing that happens is that you stop comparing yourself to others because you no longer need to.

When you love yourself you no longer have envy, you no longer want something simply because someone else has it…or says that you should. The concept of class or station in society loses all meaning because they are based on exclusivity and exclusivity, whether in a country club, a college, a business or a whole society, depends on envy and fear. When you love yourself, you lose both envy and fear so you can’t feel threatened by another person…and you no longer need anyone’s validation that you are a wonderful, amazing person who deserves love and respect.

You already know that.

When you love yourself, you look at the world with new eyes because it is no longer about getting what’s yours…and fuck everyone else…it’s about helping, it’s about compassion, it’s about collaboration with others toward a common good. It’s about love and respect, not competition and rivalry. You are no longer controlled by the media, by the corporate institutions, by a government who attempt to manipulate you by playing on your deep seated fears.

Oh, and know that things would change radically. Drastically. Without envy or fear, the concept of fashion would be lost, sex could no longer help sell anything…there would be no cliques, no upper classes, no lower classes…media empires would crumble because they could no longer use fear to manipulate you. The poor would be helped, the hungry fed, the hurt would be healed because it is the right thing to do…and no one would be afraid to do it. When you love yourself, you cannot be convinced that whiter teeth, lite beer or a new car will make your life better because, regardless the products or services in the advertisement, what the toothpaste, beer and car companies are really trying to sell you is a better life…

…and you already have one of those 😉

Believe. Go. Do.

~TrevorZen