Love is... by Louisa Parr

There seems a lot of us who are very quick to self sabotage; fixated on our flaws we are generally ready to bring ourselves down at any given moment.

Peterborough lady Louisa Parr gives us her thoughts on what love is...

Before writing this article and knowing that ‘LOVE’ was the theme for this particular issue, I sat for an hour staring blankly at an empty screen. I’d had a plethora of ideas swimming around in my head, but hadn’t a clue as to what angle I would actually tackle the enormity of this four lettered word from?

The word ‘Love’, of course, comes in many guises and in the past I’ve written about it several times. I’ve spoken of my four beautiful sons and my unconditional, immeasurable love for them all. I’ve written of my unabashed love for my Momma, despite her random behaviour during some of her rather more unusual menopausal moments. And, my Dad too, for instilling those very strict but firm, foundations that have partly made me who I am today.

I have broached the slightly harrowing subject of the dating game for both men and women of a certain age and just how much more complicated the pursuit in finding love can be!? I’ve even enthused over my passion for certain types of music, dancing and fashion.

However, I think that the most important love of all is the kind you have for yourself. There seems a lot of us who are very quick to self sabotage; fixated on our flaws we are generally ready to bring ourselves down at any given moment. I don’t know why we do it, but we do! Maybe it’s the society we live in, who knows? We should all try being a little kinder to ourselves. Attend that art class you’ve been saying you’d like to go to, but haven’t quite got around to enrolling yet. Buy those quirky red boots you’ve had your eye on for the last month and have that long hot soak in a bubble bath (along with a glass of wine and some chill out music), like you’ve been promising yourself for weeks!

It’s so important to do these little things for ourselves - it’s great for our own self esteem and wellbeing too... because you all know Ru Paul’s famous mantra... “ If ya can’t love yourself, how the hell ya gonna love somebody else?”. Amen to that!