I find that when I try to reflect on my experience with love, it’s often shadowed by a lot of other emotions.

You see, I don’t think humans know a love that dwells purely within itself. 

Love exists surrounded by desire, temptation, fear, abandonment, betrayal, acceptance, pain, joy, and mostly it resides deep within the scope of vulnerability. 

So often we place our love outside of ourselves; we love this person, that animal, this job, these experiences, this house, and that thing.

We love you, and we love love, but do we actually love ourselves? 

Unconditionally, entirely, every single piece of who we are. 

To know love is to greet yourself without any masks.

We create these masks to represent times in our lives where we fit in, felt seen, molded to our surroundings, and settled into acceptance. Those masks begin to stay on for longer periods of time until it becomes second nature to become someone who doesn’t necessarily represent the authentic YOU. 

So what happens when you remove that mask and move into discomfort?

Do you still love yourself?

Can you hold unconditional space for human mistakes, emotions, and unravelings? 

Because if you can’t show up for yourself like that, how can you trust yourself enough to believe that you can show up for another in such a way? 

Love is a baseline. 

Love is the minimum. 

Upon that foundation we can build trust, respect, and friendship.

You are deserving of your own unconditional love.

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