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Re-learning Self-Love

“Where there is love there is life.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Love is at the center of my understanding of me. It is where my deepest pain resides, where my tragedies are laid open, where the meaning of everything exists, and where I ironically find my refuge most often. Love is the energy that I know most commonly and most profoundly within me. It is the essence of who I am and what I know about myself. I am love. 

From an early age my mother did such a beautiful job helping me understand just how worthy I am of love. But over the years I started telling myself something different. The old programming that once gave me confidence slowly got replaced with newer, less uplifting messages about love and myself. 

I also started telling myself that what happens to me is me. I allowed my experiences and what others said about it to corrupt my own understanding of myself. Somewhere down the line, I began to believe that what was happening to me in my life was who I was. But it really wasn’t, it was just what was happening to me. Little did I know through all this strife and pain I was cultivating within me something new and more exciting. A higher understanding of me and my universe. 

It has taken some time for me to really dissect this within me in order for me to understand what I had been fighting against. I tried to take on the messages of others, especially those I loved. I was never broken or unworthy. I was simply reflecting back what was going on around me and trying to make it my own. I didn’t stop and stand my ground with who I am. 

Today the lessons for me are clear. The signal that I am broadcasting today is clearer than it has been in a long time. Who I am I will never again question. I am the energy of love. I am the purpose of joy. I am every good intention in the universe. 

About the author
Tad Inoue is an IFBB Professional League judge, Nutritionist and Professional Diet Coach for many clients and athletes worldwide. Tad has been in the bodybuilding and fitness industry for over 32 years and his clients include professional athletes, top amateur atheletes and all other competitors in figure, bikini, men and women's physique and bodybuilding, as well as individuals interested in optimal health. Tad was a National competitor in the NPC for over 30 years and now focuses his passion, knowledge and experience on helping and instructing others in fitness, wellness and athletic competition. His education includes philosophy, theology, nutrition, biochemistry as well as dietetics. He specializes in contest preparation for Figure, Bikini, men and women's Phyisque, Bodybuilding and fat loss for optimal health. Tad is also a speaker on mindfulness, motivation and joyful positive living.