Do LUV to value and nurture

Let’s begin the topic of LUV by stating a couple of examples of what it is not.

First, LUV is not about the love you want or the love you receive from others. LUV is about the love you do and the love you give. We all want to be loved by someone, but we cannot control whether, when, or even how someone loves us. You do control the love you do and give. The good news is, the best chance to receive love from others is when you give love to others.

Second, you may "love" to dance or "love" a song, but these are examples of enjoying yourself and the LAF deed of goodness.

LUV is about valuing yourself and nurturing others. LUV rewards you with purpose, self-respect, self-acceptance, resilience, and good health.

LUV toward yourself are actions to value the goodness in yourself. Valuing yourself means believing that you matter, that you have purpose, and that you can and do make a positive difference in this world.

Valuing yourself also pertains to your well-being physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Because you matter and can make a positive difference, you want to take proper care of your welfare to be able to fulfill your purpose. Abusing your body with drugs or your mind with hate are signs that you do not value yourself.

When you are feeling down on yourself, it is often because you have lost your sense of self-value. You may believe you are worthless, that the world would be better without you in it, that you cannot do right, that you have no goodness within you, or that your life has no meaning. When you stay in an abusive relationship, you may believe that no one else would love you or care about you because you do not see the value in yourself. Valuing yourself is essential to rising above these thoughts and elevating your life.

You control whether you value yourself. It is not dependent on others. Others may cut you down or make hurtful remarks to you, but only you know what goodness is inside of you and only you can control the goodness you are capable of becoming. And others may praise you and value you, but only you can determine if you value yourself.

Narcissism is not the valuing of self in LUV. Narcissism is self-centered, selfish love with a grandiose view of one’s own talents or looks. Narcissism is about self-importance and superiority compared to others. The self-love in LUV is about goodness and respectfulness and self-acceptance and purpose. The valuing of self in LUV gives your life the ability and thoughtfulness to nurture, care for, and love others in a sustainable way.

Valuing yourself means never hating yourself or hating others because hatred devalues yourself. Hatred hurts yourself regardless of whether the target is internal or external. Always LUV and never, ever hate.

LUV toward others are actions to nurture the goodness in others. Nurturing means loving, caring for, and supporting others so they may see and value the goodness in themselves. Nurturing means showing kindness, tolerance, and respectfulness.

These deeds can be simple. Opening the door for someone. Listening. Helping someone cross the street. Giving a kind word.

As with all deeds of goodness expressed outwardly, you can only control what you do. You may express love toward another or try to help someone, but the other person may not accept the love or the help. It is the goodness of your intent and your actions that matter.

The LUV you give often helps you. Each time you LUV outwardly, it helps you recognize your life's value and how your life makes a positive difference to others and this world. And often others reciprocate this love, helping you value yourself more. This is part of the Philosophy for LYF's wealth-worth win-win.

As with all the deeds of goodness, LUV is a doing. LUV is more than just having compassion, sympathy, and empathy. It is doing deeds that provide the goodness of LUV.

Activities for LUV are wide ranging and include loving yourself and others, caring for yourself and others, and acting on your purpose. All of these activities pertain to the well-being physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually of yourself and others. Acts of LUV outward show you think about others and understand the consequences of your actions.

While avoidance of negative-impact acts is not sufficient for LUV (LUV is a doing), it does show that you care enough about yourself and others to avoid reducing your value and self-worth. It is a pre-requisite to growing and giving goodness.

Acting on your purpose means doing loving acts that give your life a positive meaning. Your positive purpose-filled actions help you recognize your life's value.

Activities for valuing yourself also include exercising and eating healthy. While we often only think of the physical body in relation to exercise and diet, these also affect you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

To fully implement the goodness deed of LUV, you must embrace the core value of respectfulness. Respectfulness means being kind, courteous, considerate, fair, and just. It is reflected in treating yourself and other people with dignity and justice. You must be respectful to yourself and to others to elevate through love. Respectfulness allows you to be:

respectful of your mind and your body,
respectful of who you are and who you can become,
respectful in dealing with every person you encounter, and
respectful in showing love and in caring for others.

Some people feel that that others must earn their respect before they will show any respect. That view of respect and the core value of respectfulness are two different concepts. While the former may mean having deep admiration for another person, the latter means thinking and acting in a way that shows you care about the feelings and well-being of another person because you know everyone has goodness in them. You should always be respectful, even if you disagree with that person.