you need to find the love within you first

And the day came when you knew that love was there,
you just had to be strong enough to look for it
and brave enough to let it in
Because in fact it was around you always
you just weren't ready to see it
You had your blinders on
Your heart was closed, your soul was heavy
You thought the world was out to get you
and you lead with an iron fist
But somewhere along the way you began to soften
Speaking kind words of gratitude and compassion to yourself
The sun began to sparkle
The blue sky radiated
You had a little bit of a pep in your step
and although you didn't know why
you knew you couldn't continue to travel the way you used to
You had to put down your baggage
You had to begin a brand new kind of self talk
You had to dig deep inside and work to unearth your own confidence
No one was going to build you up, 
you needed to do that on your own
And so you did
Piece by piece
Moment by moment
You put yourself back together again
And when you looked in the mirror you actually loved who was looking back
It took work
Many tears
And lots of frustration
But you found your path
Your very own path
And you knew how to travel down it, because you were the one creating it
Your inner spark was lit
and a brand new love story was born
A story of kindness, hope, and deep self love
You unearthed the you that was there all along
The one hidden under the rubble
And you realized that life is so much more beautiful when you choose happiness
When you choose to be brave and stand up for what you believe in
When you choose YOU
And yes, it still takes work
And there are still struggles and tears
But you know it is worth it, so very worth it
Because love is all around
But you have to find it in yourself before you can see it anywhere else