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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Did You Ever Really Love Me, Stebie?

Ive been asked so many questions, about different friends' love lives, and the advice I give them is always the same ol' song and dance. I always tell people to follow whatever their heart tells them as long as they have thought it through.

The interesting part of the story is that, I have never been one to follow my own advice. I have never been one to take calculated risks, instead I jump without a parachute or a safety net. In love, Ive never been as lucky as I'd hoped to be. Nor have I been happy about it.

But something Ive recently learned or discovered, if you will...

Is that love begins at home. Its not your house, or the material things that have accumulated in it or sometimes not even the people living there. Its the memories that you hold close to your chest for safekeeping. Love is that stain on the living room carpet where you and your cousin had your first fight. Its the smell of your grandmothers perfume. Its the tingle in your spine when you embrace your mother after a long journey (be it emotional, spiritual, or physical). Love is omnipresent. And if you are blessed enough to have that foundation, never ever forget that your roots are deeply planted in love.

I forgot that once... I almost forgot where I came from. And God has a way of breaking us down to build us back up into who he intended us to be. He has a way of showing us that we are home. That we are our own homes, and love starts within ourselves.

Love is not just a feeling. Its a responsibility. An action.

Its a responsibility to yourself, first and foremost. Because you owe that to yourself. You owe yourself the freedom to love and be loved. And often times we get so caught up in the loving part that we forget to be loved by our own selves. We forget that the most important love of all is self love. It can be a battle, but no one is responsible for you, except you. And thats a hard pill to swallow, but a necessary one nonetheless.

So in your endless journey of discovery, remember that love begins in you. Find it in yourself and the rest will fall in place.