Love...

What does love mean? Where does the feeling originate?

My whole life I have always known and felt love, desired to know love even more, which made me want to search for it more and more as I grew older. We all search for it, and sometimes we find it in the weirdest places--but we find it, or it finds us.

We go through our whole lives not knowing if it's "real" or if it's "fake." Is he THE one? Can we touch love? Maybe. Life without love is not life at all--we all need it to survive. We try to build walls around ourselves, to shield the pain and the potential disappointments, but in the end if we refuse to let love in we will be alone and miserable. No matter what anyone says, nobody wants to be alone in this world--it's scary out there!

We learn that we love differently throughout the phases of our lives and this it's exciting. It's exciting to have that "glow," to feel like someone needs you, to smile and know that when it's all over we have lived, loved, and grown all through love.

Love is passion. Be prepared to give a little and take a little too. Don't be afraid to love like you've never been hurt. Nobody said it would be easy, but hey, it's a part of life.

Love is a necessity. To love is to let go of your fears and live for the moment and not care what people think of you. To love is to embrace kindness and not be afraid of an argument or a difference in perception.

Love is overwhelming. To love is to allow ourselves to be high on life and cherish the moments we have with those we share love with.

Love is a challenge. To love is to forgive and to start over.
It's too easy to let people go and to never look back when they hurt you or disappoint you. Sometimes, this is necessary because the love bond may not be mutual; however, it's important to evaluate the situation and commit to love. Love is not perfect because the people who partake in it are just that---people. People make mistakes and still have the heart to continue on and continue loving one another.

No matter what your situation, or what you are going through, remember to love yourself first as a creation of God, accept that you will make mistakes, and the hardest part is you must allow yourself to be an active participant with love. What do you really want? How do you love? Learn to trust yourself and trust that God's plan for you is extraordinary. Believe it or not, love will flow in, but only if you let it.

Live for today. Love for tomorrow.