At this time of the year it's very easy to believe that romantic love is the-be-all-and-end-all of love.
This is so untrue. Self-love is the most important form of love. If you don't love yourself you cannot love anyone else properly. Most of us don't love ourselves enough, we judge ourselves harshly and concentrate on our imperfections.
People sometimes confuse self-love with pride, selfishness or arrogance. Their understanding of self-love is wrong. People who truly love themselves are the opposite of this. They are more loving, compassionate and giving.
We are living in a society that is always telling us we are not good enough, not successful enough, not slim enough, not rich enough. So it's not surprising that many of us struggle with self-love and find it hard to accept ourselves as we are.
I see angels physically and I have done so since I was a baby. I know this is hard to believe, and I know that there are some people who will never believe me, regardless of what I say or do. I have no idea why I see angels and others don't; I am just an ordinary woman. When I have asked the angels around me about this, their reply has simply been "Why not you?"
I see a guardian angel behind each and every person I see, regardless of their religion, or whether they have any faith at all. I see so much love and compassion radiating from each guardian angel to the person it is guarding. Your guardian angel loves you unconditionally and doesn't find fault with you, criticise you or judge you in any way.
If only we could learn to see ourselves in the way our guardian angel sees us, our lives would be so much easier. We would love ourselves more and would look on others with more compassion, seeing their strengths rather than their weaknesses. We would have a much more hopeful view of our world.
I will often see a guardian angel standing behind the person it is guarding and slowly making circular motions with its hand in front of the person's heart. When I see this I know that the angel is trying to encourage the person it is guarding to grow in self-love. The angel can help, but the truth is self-love can come only from ourselves.
Society's obsession with striving for perfection has created an unobtainable goal for us to reach. The truth is we are all human and not one of us is perfect.
We are though, all wonderful and special individuals with our own unique role to play in this world. A role that no-one else can play.
The only way for us to grow self-love is to shift the emphasis from our weaknesses to our strengths. Instead of concentrating on our mistakes or imperfections we need to concentrate on all that we do, and have done well.
Start to be aware of how good you are and try and cut yourself some slack.
As you allow your self-love to grow you'll find yourself becoming a happier and more fulfilled person, more able to love others.
On March 14, Lorna Byrne will participate in a public interview with Professor John Esposito of Georgetown University organized by The New York Open Center.
Professor Esposito, a leading U.S. expert on Islam and a former Catholic monk, will be discussing with Lorna the origin of angels, their relationship to God and humans; the existence of evil; the role of angels in Islam; the role of angels in uniting religions; America's role in the spiritual evolution of mankind, and more.
Details here.