For Anybody Who's Chosen LOVE.

I am happy for anyone who has made the choice to hold on to love. The world is a lonely place without it. I see the loveless trying to make things happen, thinking that somehow they can do it all alone. At the end of the day, love is all we truly have to give to one another, and far too many just throw it away.

Most people look at love as this state of emotion that we fall into. They think it is this thing that leads us around, forcing us to act irrationally. I beg to differ. Love is something that empowers us to reach down and uplift others. It compells us to look beyond our own needs and serve the needs of others. It demands that we look beyond someone's faults and see their beauty. Love requires us to grow stronger in the face of doubt, walk taller in the face adversity, be patient in the midst of confusion. When we have real love in our lives we know that we can soar.

I've been fortunate to be surrounded by a family who truly loves me. That has translated to being someone who can give love freely and openly. To me that was the greatest gift in the world. I learned that love is something that we should give without fear or expectation. I got to see what unconditional love looks like, understand what it feels like and know that I wanted to draw more of that into my life.

Those of you reading will hopefully understand me. Yes, there will be those souls who enter into our lives having no clue how to love themselves, let alone anyone else. Yes, they will try our patience and test our commitment to live up to the best in each of us. Yet, when it's said and done and we have chosen to love them despite themselves, we'll smile because it has cost us very little but we have gained everything.