By RTT Family
With September being Suicide Prevention Month in the United States, we’ve been asking hard questions at the table to help bring awareness to the issue. We’ve learned that suicide is the leading cause of death in the United States for people ages 10-34, and the 10th leading cause of death for American citizens. Suicidal ideations have devastating effects on the mind, body, and spirit, leaving people feeling overwhelmed by those thoughts and ultimately hopeless.
Our goal at the Red Table is to influence our brothers and sisters to become masters of self-love as a means for redeeming hope and healing to our personal lives and ultimately the world. When we take the journey towards self-love, we begin the journey of acceptance, of connection, and of abundance, and we overpower those feelings of rejection, inferiority, and defeat.
Tell yourself that self-love is the gateway towards your highest, best life.
We’ve asked Gammy four key questions that have come to the table from sisters and brothers such as yourself with the hope that we can do our part to introduce like through a different lens.
Here’s part 3 of what Gammy had to share with us:
RTT Family: Gammy, many of our brothers and sisters at the table are struggling with self-love and personal acceptance. And, with September being suicide prevention month in the United States, we want to get as many members of our community on the right path as possible. How do you define self-love?
Gammy: Self-love, for me, is acceptance of myself as I am and learning not to make how others feel about me decide how I feel about myself. That’s new for me and a big challenge because the external has always been more important to me. The most important thing self-love allows me to do for her is to support her in whatever she does and try really hard to do that without judgment. That’s not always easy ‘cause I don’t always agree with her path and, unfortunately, human beings tend to be judgemental. Also, self-love can make you selfish. Be careful with that. Other people are still important. Boundaries and balance while you’re on that self-love journey. RuPaul says it best. If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen???
Gammy’s revelation reminds us to attend to ourselves before anyone else, knowing that the key to life lies on the inside of us. We each possess the power and strength to see ourselves to the other side of our circumstances, but we must be willing to look on the inside and cleanse what’s been damaging our heart space. We can conquer pain and fear, but we have to support ourselves more than we support the rest of the word.
In the words of Oscar Wilde, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” Salute to the beginning of a lifelong romance.
QUESTION FOR THE TABLE:
How has self-love shaped your ability to love others? SHARE your truth in the comments below.
