‘I promise to love you forever and cherish every moment we share together’
OR
‘With all my heart I promise to love you forever’.
‘Forevermore’ sounds good like an eternal promise; a love and attachment requires two individuals who have mutual trust and admiration for each other, this makes their love never ending and what we call, ‘forever love’.
Nevertheless, I find the term ‘cliché’ as this ‘forever love’ restricts two people. Devoting oneself to your partner is limiting oneself to an extent. Vowing to be what your partner needs, what he/she desires. I think this adjustment and to some extent dependency on others doesn’t last ‘forever’.
Maybe yes, in the initial stages of the relationship, each one of us wants to accommodate the partner’s feelings which we happily do so however, with the passage of time these same feelings and habits tend to become annoying. No wonder the ‘forever together’ goes out of the window when it’s soothing warmth fades.
I am not belittling the forever love but doesn’t it happen that once you mould your life, intertwine your fingertips, your heartstrings, your aspirations with your significant other then our expectations rise. And we all ‘exactly’ know what happens when our expectations are not met.
Almost every relationship goes through ups and downs but when the ‘downs’ keep adding up then it’s time for some correction. It’s time for us to dwell into our inner self and figure out what needs fixing.
When we look at ourselves in the mirror it’s usually not hard at all to find something that we don’t like about ourselves. But here is the eye-opener, a lack of self-love goes beyond being unhappy about how you look, it actually manifests itself in the way you treat yourself and others and the things that you do to wreck your chances at happiness.
A little bit of conscious work by yourself, along with a trusted friend or even a therapist can help you fall in love with yourself all over again so that you can get back to treating yourself in the most loving way possible.
1. Jot down your achievements – write down your achievements; however big or small, things that you are good at, struggles you have overcome. This list will give you confidence and a sense of self-worth.
2. Take care of your body – Treat your body well by eating healthy, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. Look after your appearance too, dress nice, groom yourself, make those timely salon visits.
3. Do stuff that bring you joy – Maybe it’s reading or exercising or dancing. Make time for fun and joy in your life and you will see how that positivity spills over to other aspects of your life.
4. Be honest about your feelings – if you are feeling down, don’t bottle it up and pretend to be happy – sharing your thoughts and emotions with others will help them understand you better and allow them to support you in a more meaningful way.
5. Surround yourself with people who lift you up – keep people who are emotionally available, supportive and understanding of your needs. It could be a friend, a family member or someone in your social circle.
6. Self-acceptance – Until you can accept yourself, acne and all, you’ll always find it difficult to truly love yourself. Nobody is perfect and we all have things that we don’t like about ourselves so accept that.
Focusing on yourself more will only bring an element of joy into your routine. Believing in your self-worth will have a positive impact on almost all aspects of your life – from the way you carry yourself to the people you invite into your life.
Falling in love with yourself is a journey of self-discovery and requires you willing to let go of fear, your insecurities and thoughts that are not serving you. Doing this will only enhance your existing and future relationships as it is difficult to have fulfilling relationships and carry emotional baggage at the same time.
– Swati Mohandas
I am a Philosophy graduate and a certified computer professional from Mumbai and based in Pune with my family from the last 2 decades.
Literature always fancied me. I pen down short stories, blogs, poems and has forayed into freelance content writing. I even published an award-winning book of collected poems titled ‘Myriad Whispers’ which is available on Amazon.
When not writing, I enjoy listening to music, exploring the outdoors and scanning local bookstores.
