Self-Love: Science verses Religion

The issue with loving yourself is that religion tells us it’s arrogant to do so, and science tells us it’s impossible. Of course, they’re both wrong.

The greatest forbidden fruit hanging from the Tree of Life is me. I was the last person on earth I was attracted to. Physically I wasn’t my type; emotionally I saw through myself, but only so far as to see down to the layer of insincerity.; and spiritually I had no opinion one way or the other.

Just from the point of view of an observer of life, the analytical side of me could see no value in loving myself when no one else was doing it. In the natural world there are no indications of self-regard and self-esteem reaching to the level of self-love. And amongst my own species (humans) most consider the idea a joke.

But I postulate that without self-love my life has no meaning. I was born alone; I’ll die alone.  And everything else in between is a series of experiences that either teaches me about the world, or it teach me about my world. And that depends entirely on me. Most people I meet are consumed with the world around them. Even if they’re not frantic about their survival issues, their passions are usually about something. And even when their passion is about someone, it’s never themselves.

Of course I’ve met exceptions to that rule, but those I’ve met who are consumed with themselves have always exhibited extreme examples of vanity, worry or preoccupation. I’ve never met someone who loved himself in a healthy way. Granted, I’ve met people who’ve exhibited loving traits that have demonstrated to me how deeply they believe in certain values, but I’ve never met anyone who quite talked about self-love the way I do.

Never was there a truer adage than, “You can’t take it with you.” And still we see so many people consumed with material acquisition. There are even those who collect people like Christmas ornaments they display with great affection at a certain time of the year. And they, too, need to be reminded that people aren’t ornaments. You can’t take them with you.

So what can you take with you? I think that’s a question that needs to be asked, and I’m open to both scientific and religious answers. But I’ve looked closely at all the usual answers from both camps, and I have to say I’m not impressed with any of their answers. Science treats me like an object with no inherent meaning. And religion treats me like a pawn in a game of their own choosing. I’m not willing to play along with either.

I see myself as a “subject,” rather than an object. And I’m the most fascinating subject I’ve ever encountered. Nowhere else on earth offers me the possibilities of exploration and frontier that I find within. Learning about myself is fascinating. I’m deeper than the oceans. My dreams are higher than the sky. And my need for grounding is more real than the earth beneath my feet. I am a world in a world. And when I leave this world I fully expect to find myself still in the world within I’m coming to love with such devotion.