We’ve all heard the expression, “love is blind.” When you fall in love, you accept everything about the person you love. You do not see faults or limitations–or if you do, you embrace them as things that make that person unique. Everything about that person is–to you–truly beautiful. And when you are deeply in love, problems and conditions that have been plaguing you seem to just fade away. People see and feel differently when they’re in love.

So, what if you applied this same thought process to yourself and your own healing? All too often, we forget the person staring back at us in the mirror. We focus on everything else around us–family, jobs, responsibilities–and often leave ourselves for last. We love with all our hearts. We do more and more for those around us to lessen their burdens or ease their minds.

But as the wise Buddha one told us, “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” So this election day, as you are casting your ballot, vote once more–for yourself. Once you devote time to caring for yourself as deeply as you care for those around you, you will feel the healing glow from deep within.