Giving but Not Receiving

I have grown accustomed to
Providing all of the
Care and love to
Anyone and everyone that
I have come to meet.

Momma always taught me
That the best kind of love
Is that which is given
To all.

And I have done that all my life,
Be it a friend,
A family member,
A lover,
Or a complete stranger,
The love that I give
Has and always will be constant,
Showering them with good deeds,
Drowning them in empathy and kindness.

But there is always a
Self-destructive aspect of
This kind of love that
Momma never taught me.

It is that with
All of this giving,
I am not receiving as
Much as that which I
Give.

When you give yourself
so much,
you forget to save
Some of that
For yourself.

That you then start
Relying on the
Acceptance of others
Rather than the
Acceptance of yourself.

That you judge your life
Not based on the quality of
The company you find yourself in,
But rather on the
Quantity of the people you have helped.

And you lie to yourself,
Saying that
Thinking these thoughts is
Just as bad as becoming a
Selfish person.

When that is so far from the truth.

Remember always that
At the end of the day that
The only person that'll
Stick it through with you
Till the end is
Yourself.

So save some of that loving
For you.