Wednesday May 10, 2006 Love is a gift

You can earn respect.
You can gain confidence.
You can draw attention to yourself.
You can gather acquaintances.
But, you must remember that love is a gift. You can't make someone love you. You can't earn somebody's love. You can't buy someone's affection. Love is given freely with no strings attached. Love can be one-sided. Just because you love someone with all your heart, it doesn't mean that your love will be returned. When you love someone unconditionally, you forgive much and overlook more. It's not necessarily your choice – you just happen to love that person -no matter what. Once you have loved someone completely and been hurt, it's hard to expose yourself to further pain. I have found that love doesn't stop when the other person has left your life and moved on – the love is still there. I love people that I haven't seen in years. And when you run into someone you love after all those years, it's like no time has passed by at all. You can't always control who you love, you just have to go with it and accept it. Just remember that your love is a gift you give freely to someone else. They may or may not return the feeling, and life will go on.

Luckily, in my family, I am surrounded by love. The love and respect that we all share gives our lives much enhancement and much comfort. I wish all could be as lucky as we.