One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is love. How we choose to feel about who we are, what we will strive for in life and how we look out upon the world and our place in it. How we treat ourselves and in turn, how we treat others.

Love can have many interpretations. Many other words are used to attempt to describe the concept or meaning of love, but the essence of love, the beginning of the emotion of love, starts with you. Self love. The kind of person you've come to expect yourself to be. It's a lifelong journey.

So how can we cultivate that feeling and why is it so important to a healthy and happy life? When we do things, whether they be completing tasks, having conversations, performing our jobs or managing our personal self-care, we try to do it from a place of conscientiousness. Like the effort was something that you cared about. That there was a sense of being present in the moment.

When we peel off all the layers of unimportance and temporary, passing things, we're left with the simplicity of just being. The love that is our life itself and the person that is you! A life that is always non-harming and ultimately sustainable. There is a simplicity then to love.

Being just who you are, enjoying and caring for life and your time in it, is how we can continue to cultivate self love. Let it come from that simple place, where it is an extension of what you desire for yourself, believe in and value. Give of your self to someone else, as others have given to you. So if ever you don't care for the person living inside, you have the power of love to change it!