Unconditional Love.

I always thought I would never be able to comprehend or express what love meant. I grew up without hearing those simple words.

I thought I would know how to love, that it would come naturally.

I realized that unconditional love does not come easy; it is something learned and practiced.

Every single obstacle of life allows you to discover new ways of loving.

To love unconditionally is to love with absolutely no boundaries.

There are many times in my life when I feel that loving someone seems nearly impossible. There are times I say harsh things to people I love just because things aren’t going my way.

In these situations, I find myself putting provisions on love. We attach it to how others are acting, and whether they reciprocate the feelings we give to them. We attach it to the circumstances and emotions that go on in a single moment.

I find myself holding back, fearful of being hurt, afraid to sacrifice a piece of myself.

Love because you’re grateful for the things someone has done for you. Love because someone needs you, needs a friend to lean on during their struggles. Love even when it is difficult, even when your mind tells you that you shouldn’t.

Love by looking beyond people’s faults, struggles, and whatever pain and hardships that life may bring.

This unconditional love is something that can so easily be given if we recognize it, and that can change someone else’s life completely.

When we love and treat each other with the utmost care and attention, the little things that bother us seem far less overwhelming.

What would the world be like if we stopped looking to get something in return, and just loved unconditionally, for the happiness and inner peace it brings us all?

Patience.

I was taught growing up that it was a virtue.

However, in my experience, patience had meant I would miss out on something I desired. I would fast track myself through career choices and opportunities and even relationships for fear that I would miss out again.

I may have seemed to the outside world to be go-getting and achieving great things, but because I was so busy rushing to the next big thing, I was actually missing out on my own life.

Patience is hard and it takes practice. Patience is about having the inner strength to face your fears, repeatedly let go of internal expectations, and have trust that it will all work out in the end.

So perhaps patience is a virtue after all.

Moderation

Can you really have too much of anything? When we think of moderation it is most commonly associated with food but can it be connected with other good things in our life. Can you have too much love? Too much kindness? Too much faith?

Sometimes it is difficult to live life moderately because we are constantly presented with pleasures and opportunities that we are quick to indulge in.

Pleasure is what brings happiness into our lives but does absence make the heart grow fonder? What happens when the “high” effect is gone?

We sometimes forget the value of moderation in our lives. Moderation is the key to life.

“Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains.” – Democritus

Because I learned to value moderation::
I am happy.
I am proud.

Not Enough.

What makes us feel like we're not good enough? strong enough? pretty enough? skinny enough? Is it an endless quest that society has placed on us that makes us feel like we are not enough.

For years I struggled with being not enough, especially for myself. I was hard on myself and had a hard time thinking i was good enough for myself let alone other people. During high school I constantly compared myself to those around me believing that I wasn't pretty enough, skinny enough, etc. The more I learned about myself, the more I realized that being 'enough' starts inside yourself.

I WAS good enough for me. I was strong enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough. I had placed too much value on the opinions of others that i disregarded being enough for myself.

Of course like anyone, I still have bouts where I wonder if I am enough. I’m still scared for at least a little bit, every day. I’ll have moments when I think that I’m not smart enough, not productive enough, not talented enough, etc.

There are days when I feel more confident, when I believe in my own ability; it can be hard to remember those moments of positivity when I’m consumed by self-doubt.

Emily Greener: “We’re running around every day and we look in the mirror, but we don’t really see ourselves. All of us are starving to be seen, to be heard, to belong.”

The desire to be everything to everyone and the fear of not being “good enough” is pervasive. It’s detrimental to our personal and professional progress, to our relationships, and most importantly, to our love for and confidence in ourselves.

Ive learned to pay attention to the source of my self-doubt, be conscious of it and work through it once it starts to creep in.

Because Ive learned that I AM ENOUGH::
I am happy.
I am proud.