True Love…

...is in our lives in many different forms. It’s right there in front of us. Sometimes, for whatever reason, we don’t see it. If we don’t see it, we can’t appreciate it, bask in it, relish it. I have found that making an effort to look for it and the ways it’s available to us makes day to day living a little better, easier and gives me some peace of mind and heart.

The Love of Family.  This should be an unconditional form of love. Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins. We form a bond, whether it’s when we are born or when we become a member of a family – through adoption or marriage – a connection is started. The strength and endurance of which is maintained by us. Sometimes, it’s easy, it flows. There is love between all or certain family members that is epic. A closeness that is admired and nurtured. Sometimes, it’s hard, it takes patience. The bond gets so stretched that it becomes difficult to maintain. It can be broken, un-repairable, it happens, but it’s ok.  You can’t choose your family, but you can choose how to love and grow with them…or not…it’s up to you.

Romantic Love.  This is generally a love of your choosing – consciously or unconsciously. It can be fun, exciting and new. It can be familiar, comfortable and sustainable. It can be torturous, unattainable or unavailable. It’s passion and longing simultaneously in your heart. You are fortunate to feel it. You can spend a lot of time on the “chase.”  How fun is that – flirting, joking, getting to know each other? You can spend a lot of time as friends, sharing things about each other, hanging out. Then, one day “POW!” You are smacked by an imaginary hand to the forehead and think “Where the heck did that come from?”

Do you remember your first kiss? Now, I’m not talking about that awkward, you-are-too-young-to-be-kissing-anybody, kiss. I am talking about that first connection. It can be one that you have been thinking about A LOT. When you really like someone, when your heart is pounding and you are thinking “Will they or won’t they? Gosh, I hope they do!” It can be when you have been hanging around with someone for a while and they decide to grab your hand and kiss you, out of nowhere (ok, maybe not nowhere!) It can be that simple kiss hello that you have kissed lots of times. But one time it zaps you with electricity that sparks your heart and suddenly you’re hooked. These first kisses should bring a smile to your kissable lips right now, just thinking about them.

The Love of Friends.  This is special, the love of friendship.  It comes often and naturally, provided you and your heart are open. It can be formed on the foundation of your similarities or your differences. For instance, a love of the same type of music can be what draws you together as friends. Subsequently, your love of different types of music can be what helps you learn about each other. It doesn’t matter if you have many friends, a few, or just one that you know that you can depend on. It’s really the quality of your friendship that matters over the quantity of friends. I am blessed with the support of my friends and I reach out for that support often and regularly. Some have been friends for years, some have been reconnected and some are fresh, new. It’s no matter, I appreciate them all. I have friends that I haven’t talked to for months at time. But when we pick up the phone or see each other, we have such a connection it’s like we talked for hours the day before. Easy, comfortable, solid.

Life is more fulfilling with true love in it.  By true I mean that you feel genuinely close to another human being for whatever reason. It’s real, look for it, feel it. Whether it’s your family, your partner, your crush or a good friend; positive relationships foster healing and well-being. Go out and get yourself some love today…call your family, have dinner with a friend, give someone a big kiss…you deserve it…with love.