What Is Love?

Love is admitting you're afraid. There's always danger around the next corner. Ghosts from your past may return to hurt you. Insecurities can destroy your confidence. Broken promises can evaporate faith. Yet, love allows a safe space for us to admit what we're afraid of. Manifesting our deepest fears with words is how we conquer them. Bringing them from the darkness into the light gives us hope.

Love is cutting yourself some slack. We all have problems. Some of us are too fat or too skinny; balding or covered in freckles. Some of us have bad acne or a lisp. Some of us have a physical handicap or a major scar. Some of us wear our defects on the inside, never to be seen. Without explanation, love makes all of those frailties and shortcomings okay. In essence, love is the great equalizer.

Love is forgiving mistakes. Admitting that others will mess up is tough, but love allows it to be alright. Money will be lost. Cars will be wrecked. Jobs will be lost. If there's any certainty in life, it is that none of us will have a perfect track record by the end of the race. We've all screwed up, in one way or another. While you have to be willing to forgive others, more importantly... you have to be willing to forgive yourself.

Love is being vulnerable. Opening yourself up to another person is scary as hell. They'll know all of your secrets and inadequacies. This person could damage you in the worst way possible, with no chance of ever fixing it. That's the funny thing about loving someone. It's like being in a relationship with your worst enemy. Every day, you wake up to the possibility of having your heart broken.

Love is courage. Considering how vulnerable love makes us, choosing to care for someone requires fearlessness. As time goes by, an unspoken promise is fulfilled. By choosing to open this door, you're letting everything wonderful and disastrous in this universe simultaneously into your heart. Choosing love is a profound statement of bravery -- I'd rather risk eternal sorrow than go through life without you.