It’s not something we can just order. It’s not a wishlist, or a menu. It’s not on-demand. It’s work. It’s passion. It’s whole. It’s love. Love, is love. Take a moment to consider what it means to you.

There is more to love, than the simplicity of the illusion. So much more. So I’ve learned, the hard way, that time is a sacrifice I am willing take in waiting for the unconditional, for true, and for selfless. It is not only what can be done for you, but what you can do for them. It is partnership, in it’s truest form. It is work. It is investment. 

And it is fun, and it is silly, and it is so so joyful. It is wondrous rapture. Love is love. 

Every single person has their own definition of love. I frequently ask my close friends, if they can select one word for what love means to them, what would it be? Each person has shared a different response. Their words vary from kindness, unity, selflessness, whole, unconditional, empathy, infinite, work, challenge, sacrifice, and more. 

Love is a manifestation of what we make of it, and our relevant interactions that have shaped it for what it is in our mind and heart. Love is what we have experienced, and how we have allowed it to transpire through our perspectives and actions. 

I don’t know if there is a defined ‘right way’ to love, but there surely are wrong ways. There is blame, there is not listening, there is dishonesty. There is staying for the sake of staying, or fear of unknown. There is using. There is needy attention-seeking. This is not it; this, is not, what it should be. 

Love should be looking at a person, and not seeking our own reflection of greatness, but rather seeing exactly who they are, all pieces and parts possible, and loving it all. It is understanding the elements of what we see as a great masterpiece, including the way each hue blends and the how each brushstroke was formulated. It is seeing to see, expecting nothing else. Love is acceptance for what is. And it is offering kindness, during times of both darkness and light. It is working to support and empower when one pillar is weak. It is wisdom of understanding time and space, and respecting both. 

Love is not taught. Love is experienced. For that, I am grateful to have learned the hard way. 

Anna Badrieh