Unconditional love. We’ve all heard the word before, but
what does it really mean?
While at a fundraiser recently, I heard a man speak about
caring for his wife while she was dying of cancer. He said although he was deeply
saddened by the huge gap missing in his life, he would never take back the
experience because it taught him unconditional love. Imagine a 60-something man
who had just learned about unconditional love. But the truth is a lot of us don’t
really know what unconditional love is.
We often think of unconditional love as the love we give to
others when we don’t expect anything back. For example, the love you give to
your young child. We do so much for them when they’re young, but we can’t
expect anything in return. But even the love towards are children comes with strings attached. We’re always trying to control them to make the decisions we think are best for them. Of course, we want to protect them, but can we let go of the control? In other circumstances, we do nice gestures for
people secretly expecting something back. Maybe we don’t even know it on a
conscious level, but when they don’t love us back we’re disappointed. We should always check our intentions before we go out of our way for people. Are we doing these things in hopes that they will love us back?
So how can you love unconditionally? I truly believe it
starts with us. We cannot give love if there is no love inside of us. If you
think you’re loving someone else unconditionally and you don’t love yourself,
you’re wrong.
Do you love yourself through the good and bad? Do you
nurture yourself? Are you compassionate when you fail? What words do you use
when you speak to yourself?
Unconditional love for oneself is a long journey, but I encourage
you to start walking. For some, it takes a lifetime to find it. But remember,
if you seek you shall fine.
