To be capable of genuinely loving others we must first have a wholesome love towards ourselves. Never disparage, berate and put yourself down. Sometimes because of the way some people were brought up, trained and educated by their parents or community they unfortunately learned to undervalue themselves, discount themselves and under-appreciate themselves. There are people who think that humility and spirituality consists in berating oneself, disparaging oneself, in putting ones face in the mud and putting oneself down. They sadly think that this is humility and spirituality. They erroneously think that Olodumare (God) is pleased by such a sad, demeaning and pitiful outlook. Olodumare (God) has created us with honor, dignity, respect and wonder.
He created us in innocence and with the capacity to grow and develop in fullness of divine goodness, wisdom and happiness. It does not please Olodumare neither is it good and beneficial for us to torture ourselves by telling ourselves that we are impure, inherently bad, valueless, undeserving and incapable. Olodumare is not pleased with this attitude or outlook because it is simply not true. Neither does our heart and conscience approve of this attitude or outlook. We should understand that such an outlook is something wrong that somehow or other was impressed upon us. It is simply something erroneous that we learned but that we can unlearn and divest ourselves of, because we must, because it is not true. Everything about a human being is intrinsically divine, holy, sacred and beautiful. Despite all appearances human beings all godlings. Human beings are evolving and developing towards a glorious and unimaginable destiny. All that we are and can become is according to the wisdom, excellent planning and goodness of the supreme creator. We are among the greatest works of Olodumare. We have not yet come to understand just who and what we really are but in due time Olodumare Agotun will educate and enlighten us all. Our spirit, mind and body are fundamentally good, clean and wonderful. But what we choose to do with our spirit, mind and body is what can degrade us or elevate us. We should not treat our minds, bodies and spirit with disrespect, harshness and roughness. We must be respectful, gentle and kind towards ourselves. We must learn to not blame ourselves for the difficulties and challenges that we experience in life. Difficulty and challenge is part and parcel of life and part of Olodumare’s training program for us. We must rid ourselves of the idea that everything unpleasant that we experience in life is our fault. This is simply not true. We should have and cultivate a wonderful sense of self-respect, dignity and wholesome self-esteem.
READ ALSO: THE TRUE GLORY, SIGNIFICANCE, PURPOSE AND HONOR OF BEING AN AWO
Olodumare himself dwells in our spirit, mind and body in his Ori manifestation! This should be a sign and indicator of our high dignity and greatness before the eyes of Olodumare. The asé of the various Orisa also dwells with us and within us. How sacred, wonderful, extraordinary and inspiring beings we are! We are to treat the totality of our being with respect and we should uphold our lives by being chaste and pure in our habits, demeanor and activities. Never call yourself low! If you discern that something in your life requires correction then simply correct it. Improve yourself with honor, zeal, gentleness and sincerity but do not deflate yourself by berating and disparaging yourself. Do not kill your spirit by thinking lowly of yourself. It is possible to think highly of oneself without falling prey to conceit, arrogance and pride. Conceit, arrogance and pride is only the distorting or corrupting of our sense of wholesome self-esteem. Wholesome self-esteem and self-confidence should be our natural state, abiding demeanor and attitude. When we mistreat ourselves we become physically, psychologically and spiritually sick and diseased. Never hurt, mistreat or injure yourself in the name of ‘spirituality’, ‘religion’ or for any other cause for that matter. Extremism is not an expression of spiritual health or godliness. We can live simple and realistic lives while enjoying a deep and satisfying communion and connection with Olodumare. We should also cultivate and enjoy an uplifting awareness of our value, dignity and fundamental goodness. We can be normal and serve Olodumare. Eccentric, baseless, ignorant and extreme practices will always injure us and put us at a distance from the genuine path of truth, love and harmony (health).
How can you serve your fellow man, the Irunmole and Olodumare except through this body, mind and spirit which Olodumare has fashioned for us. Loving and caring for yourself is an expression of your love and respect for Olodumare. You cannot have inner peace, inner cohesiveness, unity of strength and outer harmony if you cultivate and direct aggression, hate and pessimism towards yourself. On the contrary you will lose strength, vitality, memory, intelligence and focus by dissipating your inner wholesome energy by treating yourself with harshness and aggression. We must love ourselves. Our love and care for ourselves is the expression of Olodumare’s love and care for us. It is through the harmonious unity of our spirit, mind and body that we can find joy and delight in life. We should not hate ourselves neither should we be our own enemies. Self-defeating ideas and practices do not come from Olodumare. Self-deprecating and self-defeating ideas or feelings cannot arise in us when our inner life and understanding are clear and healthy. Your being is a temple of the divine. Your life is a blessing and source of blessing to others. There is no one like you in all of creation. There is no one who can replace you. You are an original creation! When you revere and love yourself, the springs of inner love within yourself will flow out freely to others, replenishing them with joy, dignity and a renewed sense of personal honor. Develop this love, honor and respect for yourself and let if flow out to others in all that you say and do. This disposition will activate your interior powers and will put them in motion in a healthy, harmonious and satisfying way. Be kind and gentle towards yourself. Be a true friend to yourself. When you are good to yourself you will be good to others because your self is not different from the self of others.
