After a few recent disappointments, I was tempted to harden, to dam up the flow of positivity that I normally give so freely. Yet the midst of this pity party of blame and self-loathing and inquisition, I decided that resistance and resentment was only hurting me more. It became clear that the only way to grow is to "love anyway." To love those who have hurt me; to love those who have let me down; to love the situations, people and circumstances which did not meet my narrow expectations of the moment. And most importantly (and more difficult sometimes) to love myself
anyway with all my flaws and insecurities and eccentricities.
It's a work in progress, but my new motto has spilled over to complete strangers. I'm practicing projecting love to people I pass on the street, the screaming child, the woman who has a meltdown at airport security. Love is so much broader than the story-book romantic love and giving it regardless of reciprocity is teaching me how to live more freely--I can place less emphasis on the outcome of an event or a relationship because I'm going to love anyway.
