Self love.
A term I was never fond of,
never quite understood.
But it always made me wonder;
How beautifully it was wrapped
in a box full of sunflowers
and gifted to someone
who never witnessed the beauty in them.
It’s almost like asking a newborn
to understand quantum physics.
Self love isn’t the ordinary face masks
you paste on your faces
neither about binge-watching series.
Nor is it about going on a shopping spree.
It isn’t something you find in
the shiny little screens,
you frantically search for.
Self love,
is walking into a path of flames
and watching every layer of your
skin tear part until you
find yourself, hiding
behind the walls you built so high
so no one would break you apart.
It’s stepping into a maze
one you assumed you had the map for,
only to find yourself utterly lost.
Self love is
when you find comfort
within yourself.
When you are in content with
the silence lingering inside you.
It’s about you setting aside your differences
and the willingness to accept the darkness
and the light
inside you.
Self love is
finding the courage to strip yourself
and lay there with vulnerability
while barely holding yourself together.
Self love is
the glee you find in your eyes
when you are
excited about the little things.
It’s those weird gestures you
make when are you all by yourself
or when you bring out the inner child in you,
near your loved ones even
after growing old.
It’s about you,
accepting yourself,
forgiving yourself,
so, you won’t bleed on
others, hoping to find the love
which was always within you.
Self love is finding
a home within you.
Payoshni Immadi is a design student currently in her third year, studying in Noida. She likes to sketch as a hobby and is passionate about writing.
Featured image credit: Vinoth Chandar/Flickr