The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

One of the most crucial things about following our hearts can be that we forget our own needs, including the need to love and respect ourselves.  Following a hectic pace to achieve our ambitions, our health suffers, we start to look dull and tired and are feeling frustrated.  But if we can’t love and respect ourselves, how can we pursue our true happiness and cultivate the world with our unique talents?  Time taken to respect ourselves and take care of our health is the best use of time.  Nichiren advises us, “More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all. From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the treasures of the heart!”