Self-love inspiration from Rupi Kaur’s The sun and her flowers

Hey aesthetes, welcome to our poetry inspired inspiration party! If poetry is the new pop, then Rupi Kaur is surely the pop queen. Her first poetry collection ‘Milk and Honey’ took the poetry world by storm with its unapologetic yet uncomplicated expression.

 It’s certainly not wrong to say that her simplistic and elegant poems are meant not only for poetry lovers but even for the ones who don’t admire poetry in general. Her writing is concise and simplistic, and these qualities make her poetry, *poetry for all*. There’s just something about her writing style that is so pure, beautiful and straightforward that it makes us all fall in love with her words. She has a unique way of weaving feelings and expressing them into words. Words that are so relatable and true, that we feel as if we’re the ones starring in her books. Her analogy and doodles are amazingly creative and thought-provoking, they’re all you need for immense aesthetic satisfaction. 

After the success of her first book, Rupi Kaur came back with another blockbuster,’ The Sun and her Flowers’ in 2017, and just like the previous book this one also did not disappoint. This book contains all that is Rupi Kaur and much more. The book is about heartbreak, defiance, immigrant struggle, femininity, strength and representation. It’s divided into five chapters: wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming, representing the life cycle of a sunflower and hence, the name. Also, Rupi Kaur has removed all formalistic constraints and added a personal tint to the book, as the source of inspiration for some of her poems is her mother *smiles from within the heart*. The book is like a safe haven for women as it talks about their issues and also makes them feel empowered and strong in a blatant manner. My favourite parts of the book are the poems affirming the importance of self-love, body positivity and sisterhood. She encourages her readers to realise their self-worth, embrace their flaws and be defiant about finding validation in someone else’s approval. 

So, here are a few of Rupi Kaur’s poems from her second book that inspired me and made me fall in love with her unapologetic poetic style all over again!! 

The greatest lesson a woman should learn 

What is the greatest lesson a woman should learn

that since day one

She’s already had everything she needs within herself

It’s the world that convinced her she did not

We are starting with this quote because as women, we are often subjected to derision just because we don’t fit into certain beauty standards set for us by society. But, it’s about time we understood the real meaning of beauty. We need to stop starving ourselves to fit into the *perfect figure * bracket or judge ourselves on our colour, body shape or facial features. We need to acknowledge that beauty comes in all shapes and colours and that it’s our strength, determination and perseverance that actually makes us beautiful and not our physical attributes. So pretty people, always remember that you already have everything you need within yourself! 

It was when I stopped searching for home

It was when I stopped searching for home within others

and lifted the foundations of home within myself

i found there were no roots more intimate

than those between a mind and body

that have decided to be whole

This beautiful quote reminds me of the saying, “At the end of the day, we’re all walking each other home.” This poem is based on the process of Awakening. 

We need to realize that our consistent grappling with life – every obsession, every unhealthy relationship or even our political stance is us trying to find a home outside of ourselves. We need to awaken our hearts and accept that what we were looking for outside, actually resides inside us. So people, release all the labels, destroy all feelings of undeservedness and start taking a peek within yourself. You’ll find your *home within you. *

thank you

look down at your body

Whisper

there is no home like you          

Thanking others often comes in handy to us. We learn to thank other people from childhood. But, how many of us can say that we’re used to thanking ourselves? Not many, right? Thanking our bodies is one of the most important things to do when you’re on a path of self-love and acceptance. It’s something that needs to be inculcated in our lives. Indeed, this habit doesn’t really come naturally to us due to society painting a certain image of a *perfect body * in front of us. But, in order to surround yourself with joy and satisfaction, you need to have a relationship full of nurturing, kindness and patience with yourself. Let’s normalize thanking ourselves, peeps!! 

acceptance

if I’m the longest relationship

of my life

isn’t it time to

nurture intimacy

and love

with the person

i lie in bed with each night

-acceptance

The relationship we have with ourselves remains with us all throughout our lives. But we often tend to jeopardize it by making excuses. But to have healthy relationships with others, we must have an amazing relationship with ourselves. We need to be aware of our feelings and respect those feelings. Remember, that real intimacy, both physical and emotional, starts with YOU.

So, always have your own back, be verbal about what you feel and most importantly learn to self loathe in a *healthy * manner.

responsibility

a lot of times 

we are angry at other people 

for not doing what 

we should have done for ourselves

-responsibility

More often than not, we are dependent on others to make us feel happy and loved. We crave their compliments, their approval and when we get that, we find one more thing to stress about. What we forget is that, no matter what others do, until and unless we take responsibility for our happiness, we can never be content. The happiness which you get from other people’s deeds is temporary because then, we’re happy for only a reason. If you want long-term happiness, you need to step up and take charge. Don’t depend on others to make you happy, rather follow the mantra, “I am responsible for my happiness.”

So, these are our favourite self-love poems from ‘The sun and her flowers’. 

To all the wonderful people reading this, we’re beautiful in our own unique ways. Embrace those ways and keep loving yourself until the end. Remember, that self-love is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. 

Finally, here’s a bonus poem for you!!! Keep loving you!

rise

said the moon

and the new day came 

the show must go on said the sun

life does not stop for anybody

it drags you by the legs

whether you want to move forward or not

that is the gift 

life will force you to forget how you long for them

your skin will shed till there is not

a single part of you left they’ve touched

your eyes finally just your eyes

not the eyes which held them

you will make it to the end

of what is only the beginning

go on

open the door to the rest of it  

time- Rupi Kaur

• favourite quotes
• Rupi Kaur
• the sun and her flowers