Learning about love

To have love in your life is truly precious.

I have learned some things about love. Perhaps the hardest has been to love others openly and without prejudice, which required me to open my heart and mind as well as to let go of my fear and judgement.

I must admit, I am a bit of a romantic! (This is quite ironic coming from a girl who spent half her life a tom-boy and then the other half trying to figure how to be comfortable in a skirt!) Thus I enjoy a good love story. One can follow the journey of two people as they discover ways to connect with each other without losing their sense of direction ... yes, it's complicated! It can be a fast tempo like a quick lustful heartbeat, or a slow tempo like that of a deep spiritual connection.

I am lucky to have love in my life.

I have parents who love me, although perhaps they don't always understand my complications! Ha ha. I have a couple of wonderful children who love me, and who are now old enough to understand that love is not dependent upon mood, situation or behaviour, but is unconditional. And I have the love of a good man. A man who has the ability to love me despite my complications -- i.e. my mood swings, my dreams, my insecurities, my search for answers to life-long questions, and my desire to love others when they are in need as well as for my need to.

"I may not be everything you thought I was, but if you love me then you need to love all the things about me."

Along my journey in this life, I have had strong and loving connections with a few people ... but I was unable to trust myself to let go and be theirs to love. I could not love everything about myself for a long time and I unknowingly hurt people because of it. There will be regrets, but these connections also taught me valuable things about myself and my capacity to trust, to forgive and to be myself.

One of the best aspects of my life right now is children, my own and others. They are so easy to love. Perhaps it is because most of them have the capacity to receive love without complicating it too much. They don't seem to question why your spending time with them, nurturing them, teaching them, learning from them, listening to them or laughing with them. They just like that you're around to give them attention, a voice, empathy, security and a hard time! I have learned that they know when you're open with them, and when you're not. There is no way I would have been good at my job 10 years ago -- I hadn't learned how to be open with myself never mind anybody else. Today, however, it is a joy to do what I do.

It would be untruthful to say that love is joyous at all times! Ha! Our hearts are not always pure and open and our minds are not always free from jealous, angry or hurtful thoughts, so we still continue to learn how to love each and every day.

I believe each of us needs love in our lives for different reasons. I think I need love that allows me to follow my dreams, my own path ... as I am easily side-tracked and like to meander along many different paths because I love a good adventure!

It seems to me that the more we learn about love, the more we learn about ourselves -- our true self.

In honour of those who've given me their love and to whom I have shared mine. Thank you ❤❤❤