Some People Teach You How to Love
Source: Lessons Taught by Life
Posts tagged with “Love”
Itâs Not Settling to Love Someone Who Doesnât Match Your Fantasy
âThings which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.â ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Iâve always been a dreamer. A really big dreamer. For the most part, itâs served me well. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. A private college, magna cum laude, while raising four children alone. I donât do mediocrity.
I worked hard and brought our family out of poverty singlehandedly. We moved to a better neighborhood, built a nice house, and went on vacations. I was no ordinary woman. Iâd much prefer to raise those kids …
How to Develop Self-Love and Why This Will Strengthen Your Relationship
“An outstanding love doesnât come from two half-fulfilled people coming together to make one whole, complete life. Outstanding love comes from two whole people coming together to share and enhance their already full and beautiful lives.” ~Pia Scade
My partner and I were having a conversation about our relationship recently.
We both told each other just how much we loved the relationship. We weren’t talking about how much we love each other, but about how much we enjoy this shared space between us, this thing we call our relationship.
We enjoy giving to it and nurturing it. We enjoy receiving …
No Matter What You Tell Yourself, There Is Nothing Wrong with You
âI wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.â ~Bronnie Ware from Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
I wish I could remember the exact moment I mis-learned that being myself wasnât going to cut it.
It happened early. Maybe kindergarten. I didnât do it consciously, but at some undetectable moment, I put my real self in a box and created someone else. This new me was so much betterâalways happy, very accommodating, super quick and witty, and an expert at everything.
This new me was almost impossible to …
You Are Beautiful; Can You See It?
âEverything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.â ~Confucius
This is my sister Cindy and me when we were little. If you look closely you may be able to tell that Cindy has Down Syndrome. This was a long time ago and one of my most favorite pictures. I am now fifty-eight and Cindy would be sixty this month.
I followed Cindy into this world and I was with her three years ago when she left. I am who I am in this world because of Cindy. She taught me all of the most important things about life through being …
6 Signs You Have a Strong Friendship That Will Stand the Test of Time
“Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” ~Muhammad Ali
Doesnât it hurt?
You develop a friendship with someone who appeared to be decent but turned out to be a huge problem in your life.
Iâm not talking about those occasional slip-ups like keeping you waiting at the coffee shop until 4:10 when the rendezvous was scheduled for 4:00.
I mean those things that completely slash the fabric of your friendshipâstuff that truly hurts, like harsh words that prey on your weaknesses and sensitivities, or complete …
How to Cultivate Hope When the World Feels Dark and Scary
âEverything you can imagine is real.â ~Pablo Picasso
The world is so broken. We are broken. We all need healing.
Recent events worldwide are terrifying and sad. This cold and dark time of year is a challenge for many.
Some of us feel every little thing. We feel everyone’s pain. We are empaths who care for every person, every animal, and the whole world.
Many of my loved ones and friends are like this. My partner’s father recalls that on a trip to a large city nearby (my partner was eight), they saw people living on the street and asking …
What to Do When You Love Someone Who Hurts You
âNothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.â ~Pema Chödrön
There is a person in my life who I love with all my heart, but in this relationship I struggle to keep a full cup myself. They are family, the situation is complicated and tender. But learning to have compassion for this other person begins with having compassion for myself.
A nasty divorce spanning most of my childhood set the stage for our current situation. My mother was deeply emotionally wounded by my father, and carried that pain into her parenting of my …
Increase Your Self-Love: 8 Ways to Be Good to Yourself
âYou yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love & affection.â ~Buddha
Someone asked me a couple of years ago out of ten, how much did I love myself? I said four. I had to give my immediate, intuitive answer, as this was the honest truth.
Four! That came as a shock to me. Itâs low. I thought I was pretty good with myself. Iâm smart, multitalented, not bad looking, generally happy, I have lots of friends and enjoy life.
But now the truth began to shine. With introspection I could see why the …
Why Advice Doesnât Help When Weâre Hurting (and What Does)
“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we’re listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.” ~Karl A. Menninger
I remember my first call like it was yesterday.
I answered the phone, heart beating out of my chest, hand firm on a sheet of local emergency phone numbers.
The voice on the other end was full of⊠meek embarrassment.
Not exactly what I was expecting.
âUhh, Iâm really sorry⊠Iâm not, uhh⊠Iâm not suicidalâŠ. I just⊠I just had a …
You Donât Have to Adjust Who You Are to Please Others
âIf you are busy pleasing everyone, you are not being true to yourself.â ~Jocelyn Murray
Do you say yes to things only to keep people happy?
Do you fear saying and doing what you actually want?
I know how that feels.
From a young age, I was the polite, good girl. I rarely rebelled. I wanted to keep everyone happy. I thought that if I was honest I’d be rejected. That those closest to me wouldn’t love me. I thought I’d end up alone.
At friendsâ houses, asked what Iâd like to drink or eat, I would always respond with …
You Donât Need to Do Big Things to Change the World
âDo not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.â ~Mother Teresa
Life is complicated. The worldâs problems are extremely complex. But what if you could help solve the worldâs problems? What if you were a world changer?
Seems rather daunting, doesnât it? Me? Change the world?! I used to feel like an ostrich, burying my head in the sand and trying to ignore all the hurt and evil in the world, because I felt helpless, like there wasnât anything I could do.
I didnât always feel that way though. There was a time when I felt I …
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