Love.  Where do I begin?  It took me a long time to find it, or shall I say, for it to find me.  I was looking for it for a while and was always disappointed.  Then I learnt to love the person most important in my life, the person who will be with me forever, through all the good and bad, ups and downs, unknown and familiarity, success and failed attempts.  I began to love me.  And following that, everything just fell into place.  When you love yourself, take good care of yourself and be kind to yourself, you are content and happy from within.  You don't place blames on the external world for your sorrow and dissatisfaction in life.  You are able to love life.  Once you are well nourished from within, spiritually and mentally, you are healthy with a good dose of self-esteem and you know your place in life does not require another person's approval.  When you are strong spiritually, mentally and physically, you are able to take care of those around you, if they require your care.  Always put the oxygen mask on yourself before assisting others.  This is not selfish.  This is to ensure that you have not only the intention but also the capability to care for others.  This is why loving yourself is so important.  Because there is only one you.  You begin with you and you end with you.  If you don't love yourself more than anyone else could, you are doing a disservice to both yourself and those around you because when you don't love yourself, when you don't think you're worthy of being loved, those around you need to work extra hard to constantly and endlessly convince you and remind you of that.  When the onus is on someone else, it is exhausting for them and it is unhealthy and unsustainable for you to rely on others for validation of your own worth. 

It is true that love spreads.  It is true that love can heal the broken.  It is imperative that it begins with yourself.