There is something beautiful about women who love deeply.

We are the women who answer late night phone calls, sit in hospital rooms, pray for our friends’ children, celebrate others while quietly carrying our own burdens, and somehow find a way to pour from cups that have been empty for quite some time.

We love hard.

Sometimes too hard.

We become the safe place for everyone else while forgetting that we, too, need somewhere safe to land.

Emotional intelligence teaches us that loving others is a gift, but understanding ourselves is wisdom. It is having the ability to extend both our hearts and our heads to provide care, guidance, support, and compassion while also recognizing when we are neglecting ourselves in the process.

How many times have you encouraged a friend to rest while running yourself into exhaustion?

How many times have you reminded someone of their worth while questioning your own?

How many times have you shown patience, commitment, grace, and unconditional love to others but withheld those very same things from yourself?

She Is Me because every woman has been there.

We have all loved family members who did not fully understand us. We have stood beside friends through storms and remained loyal even when life became difficult. We have loved mates with every fiber of our being, often placing their needs before our own.

But somewhere along the way, many of us learned how to become everything for everybody and very little for ourselves.

The truth is this:

You deserve the same care that you freely give.

You deserve the same concern that you offer others.

You deserve the same commitment that you extend to everyone else.

And most importantly, you deserve your own constant love.

Loving yourself is not selfish. It is necessary.

It is setting healthy boundaries without guilt.

It is allowing yourself to rest.

It is forgiving yourself for mistakes.

It is choosing peace over performance.

It is looking in the mirror and saying, “I matter too.”

Because if we are honest, some of us have spent years making sure everyone else was okay while silently breaking ourselves apart.

A healthy love for self teaches people how to love us. It reminds us that our value is not based on what we do for others but simply on who we are.

Before you can fully love your family, your friends, or your mate, you must first know how to love yourself.

Not the polished version.

Not the strong version.

Not the version that always has it together.

But the woman who cries in private, who is still healing, who sometimes gets tired, who needs reassurance, who longs to be chosen, too.

Love her.

Care for her.

Speak kindly to her.

Protect her peace.

Be patient with her growth.

Commit to her healing.

And never abandon her.

Because the relationship you have with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship in your life.

Dear Me, continue being kind. Continue loving deeply. Continue being a safe place for those you hold dear.

But do not forget to become that safe place for yourself.

You cannot continually pour into others while denying yourself water.

She Is Me because she finally understands that loving herself does not take away from the love she gives others…..it multiplies it.

And perhaps one of the greatest acts of emotional intelligence is realizing this simple truth:

Love yourself first.

Then love others from the overflow.

We Will Be Well.

By: Sherilyn Smith

Follow me on Instagram @SheIsMeOrg

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