A month ago, a friend shared with me that the most impactful way to serve others is to love ourselves. When he shared that, my brain froze for a bit. I felt the truth of the statement, but it did not register completely.

At the time, I was with a loved one who was going through a very tough time. After trial and error, I realized that the most powerful way I could help somebody heal, was to love and care for them unconditionally.

In truth, the people around us respond to our love, not our incessant demands for them to change. The more we show them how much we care, the more they feel that love within themselves.

It sounds very basic and it is. Our impact on others all stems from how much love and care we have cultivated within ourselves.

Compassion, love, and care, are what help people transform at the root level. Through loving ourselves unconditionally, we develop our ability to do so for anyone in our life. It's a natural outflow.

The question becomes how do we develop love and care for ourselves? Through consistent practice. By coming back to love anytime fear or darkness overcome us. By holding ourselves compassionately in our own arms and embrace.

As we develop these qualities within ourselves, our capacity to give to others increases. You can imagine having a personal love tank that needs daily replenishing. And if you don't replenish it, you are operating with limited resources.

If we are truly serious about helping others, we need to be professionals at loving ourselves. For we can only give to others what we have developed within us.

For me, filling my love tank happens through music, movement, meditation, journaling, and being kind and compassionate with myself. I know that the more connected I am to my Source and the different parts of myself, the more abundantly I can be of service to others.

And to help someone going through a dark night of the soul, I need to love myself deeper than ever before.

When negativity, fear, and darkness surround us, it's our opportunity to activate our love muscles and shine our light.

The deeper we can love ourselves, the deeper we can love those who need it most. And that's one of the most selfless acts I can imagine.

If you feel inspired, ask yourself how you can fill your love tank today. What thoughts, behaviors, and actions, help you cultivate unconditional love for yourself? What people, stories, or movies exemplify this in your life?

As you practice filling your love tank observe how it outgrows you and touches all the people around you!