“W“hen it comes to love, it seems like most of us have been conditioned to wait on that ideal person, THE ONE; the soul mate that will love us, unconditionally. While we wait for what seems like forever, our soul mate, we are made to believe, does the same. In between the waiting stage, for most of us, life happens. Some of us go through experiences we have no business going through: childhood trauma, accidents, drugs, alcohol, rape, horrible relationships etc. In the process, our many held false beliefs on what love is or ought to be worsens; as such, it is no surprise we develop an even deeper dysfunctional relationship with self. It is during these times that for some of us, if we are lucky, someone who cares takes the time to say, “hey you are worth it. Love yourself. Break away from the addiction, bad relationship etc.” But, even then, the emphasis is still not on unconditional love for self. It is more of a “you can do it” message.
Nobody tells us that self-love, necessarily, must go beyond “you are worth it” to enter the space where we love self with the same conviction and unconditional terms we would THE ONE.
Indeed as Valentine approaches, I submit to you that we can only find true love when we begin bulldozing the deeply rooted brainwashed myths sold to us about love. The commercialized over the top myths that make some of us feel like failures when we find we do not meet these expectations. Self love begins with YOU and it MUST be a clear understanding that YOU are THE ONE you’ve been waiting for to love you, unconditionally. Unconditional love includes loving the good, bad and ugly part of you knowing that you are and will get even more refined at being the best YOU, with time.
I believe that it is only when we get to this state of unconditional love for self that we find true love, one that is healthy and does not join the statistics of failed relationships.
Happy New Month Ladybrille readers. Welcome to our Valentine Edition! This month as we celebrate Valentine’s Day, I hope this edition informs, entertains, inspires and empowers you to have an intimate, brilliant and amazing time loving you, unconditionally. When you do, all around you will glow. If you are in a relationship, it can only get stronger with such unconditional acceptance of self. If you are looking to enter into one, it won’t take too long as the universe aligns to bring you all the positive and wonderful things you wish for yourself in your life.
To celebrate and encourage you to love self, unconditionally, we bring to you our Man of the Month Amobi Okoye, NFL Houston Texans Defensive Tackle. Okoye, despite his young age and being the youngest to be drafted to the NFL, is not waiting for love to find him. He is showering his love on his local and international community. His story is highly inspiring. Please take a sneak peek here and stay tuned for his feature this Friday.
Equally inspiring and full of love is Ladybrille Woman of the Month Currie Lee, owner of the eco-friendly brand D-Sata. Born on Valentine’s day, Lee quit her job as a lawyer to pursue her passion for fashion and love for her global community. Her feature is a must read and debuts next Monday.
We continue with our celebration of love with Nigerian Artist Eva D’Diva. This artist has used and continues to use her work to highlight the ongoing crisis in Jos, Nigeria where many children and women have been killed. Finally, our Valentine Edition would be incomplete without our interview with the beautiful African model Nana Keita; and of course a fashion feature on Joburg Fashion Week.
Stay connected with us all month long. Share our articles and stories with your family and friends, “LIKE” our Facebook fan page so we see how we are doing and have a fantastic Valentine and for our US readers a beautiful Black History Month as well.
God bless.
Yours truly,
([email protected])
Uduak Oduok, Esq.
Editor-in-Chief
Ladybrille Magazine
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
