On Loving

Love is a skill, and it took me a long time to begin to learn how to love. Here are some things I’ve learned so far.

• Most things people do are calls for love and acknowledgement. Sometimes, a little attention makes all the difference.
• Cynical people criticize acts of kindness and love because they feel insecure. They either wish they were the kind of person who’d give such kindness, or wish they were the kind of person who’d receive it.
• The best way to make love happen is to feel loved. When I focus on making myself positive and happy, and ensuring my needs are met, many things fall in place.
• A large part of loving someone is learning to see them the way they see themselves. But to know how to love someone more than they love themselves, I need to see them as they are, as deeply as possible.
• Surround people I love with people who love and support them. Help those people show their love.
• I don’t need to be aligned with someone’s life ambition to love them, but magic happens when I love someone and also love what they dedicate their life to.
• When people hurt me is when they need love and attention from me the most.
• A cheap laugh or looking clever isn’t worth risking making my loved ones feeling hurt or rejected.
• Conflicts strengthen relationships if discussed, kill relationships if avoided.
• We will all die one day. Tell people what needs to be told; leave nothing unsaid if tomorrow I get hit by a bus and die.
• Fear kills love, courage grows it. Idealism kills love, acceptance grows it.