Another chance at self-love in 2022
The Hindu
The biggest cliché of 2021 is still relevant if you learn how to accept yourself, even the dark, unpleasant bits
As I write this column during the Christmas week, there’s a post on Instagram that asks me to ‘Be the least productive version of yourself. Take a vacation from your vacation. It’s called self-love.’ Pretty useless advice when you have a deadline looming, or have kids, or a life in general.
Self-love was perhaps the biggest cliché of 2021, right up there with gratitude and positivity. The phrase was tossed around so casually that it’s now become a sign of privilege and carelessness. Activities such as meditating on a cup of tea to carve out ‘me time’, or cutting contact with those who don’t serve ‘your best version’ are so out of touch with reality that we’re all collectively disgruntled with the concept of self-love.
So why am I carrying a phrase that was ubiquitous last year into 2022? Because the concept is still relevant today. Because after 20 months of loneliness, chaos and uncertainty, if there’s one lesson we’ve learnt, it’s that self-acceptance (if not love) was key to survival.