
The Meaning of "True Love"
We all know about it. We all observe it. And we all feel it for something, for someone. Sometimes we feel vulnerable expressing it either because we’re shy, or because we fear that our actions won’t fully capture what we feel inside. Maybe it’s because it just can’t be put into words or actions. And sometimes… we question it too!
For me, love reveals itself in three ways. Each one feels real in its moment, but only one is what I’ve come to believe is true love. I’ll share all three below, and maybe you'll find parts of yourself in them too.
When Life is Kind
Imagine a person whose life is seemingly perfect. Their dreams come true one by one, their desires are fulfilled with ease, and they live what many would call a dream life. They turn to the Divine with gratitude, overflowing with love and appreciation. But is that love… true?
The real question is: is their love a natural reaction to all the goodness they've received, or does it exist beyond that? It’s easy to feel devoted when life gives us everything we want but does that love "survive" when it doesn’t? That’s where we begin to glimpse the next level.
When Life "Hits Hard"
Here, life isn’t kind. Things don’t go the way they should. The flow turns against us sometimes even in the opposite direction of our hopes. We face situations we don’t deserve, and despite being worthy, we’re left empty-handed. But even in this, we respond with love. We hold on with patience. We acknowledge the pain, and we embrace the hardship.
No matter what life do to us, we reply with respect. This is something we often call “greatness” .To love in reaction to comfort is is normal but to love in reaction to the cruel face of times takes real strength. Yet there is even a clear face love shows up in!
The Unshakable and True Love
This is love that isn’t shaped by circumstances. Regardless of what happens, whether life brings flowers or throws stones, we continue to speak the language of love. We don’t weigh our love against what we receive and what we don't receive. We don’t let our response be altered by what we face. The main thing here is our love is not in reaction to situations, it's just what we do. So no matter if life is going well or not, all we know is love to respond with. We don't know the language of hate, we don't know impatience, or any other evil all we know and do is love.
This is true love. Not because it's strong, but because it simply doesn't know any other language. It doesn’t recognize hate. It doesn’t speak resentment. It only knows love and that’s how it chooses to face the world.
True love is not easy to develop and is rarely found.
When life takes turn from being kind to cruel, from certainty to chaos, something inside us begins to change. Kindness fades and Love begins to disappear. That's when we realize that the love was in response to life being good and not our natural reaction.
This is the breaking point where many give up.
But those who hold on, who face the horrors of life with love and grace, begin to discover something deeper.
Through every rise and fall, every soft breeze and harsh storm, we learn to love not because of our circumstances, but in spite of them.
We come to understand that life will always shift but love isn’t something to be compromised along the way.
It’s something to be lived, chosen, and nurtured no matter what.