“Love comes to those who still hope even though they’ve been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they’ve been betrayed, to those who still love even though they’ve been hurt before.” ~Unknown
It is my firm belief that one cannot truly experience true love unless one is willing to give themselves completely and utterly to the other person.
In order to experience complete love, you need to be able to give complete love and you need to be able to be receptive to complete love.
Think of our kids, they give themselves to us completely and utterly and are totally dependant on us. And we love them unreservedly in return. No questions asked. No matter what they do, we never stop loving them. Yes sometimes they hurt us along the way. And yes some of us will get hurt along the way but life is not meant to be lived by always taking the easy road.
There are some people though who have been so emotionally scarred by previous occurrences in life that they find it impossible to trust anyone enough. By withholding a part or a lot of themselves they never allow their relationships to blossom to the level they could get to. This may of course be a protective mechanism. At times they do let down the barriers and let themselves lose control for a while but often regret the experience later. They hate what they become when they are with the other person. They find it easier to “control” the situation by being away from it. Unfortunately they will never get to experience that delight, that sheer ecstasy that goes with knowing that someone loves you as truly and as deeply as you love them. This situation is often difficult to get through without outside help because the person becomes “stubborn” and avoids situations where they might “lose control”.
There are others who lack the self confidence to believe that anyone could love them deeply. They cannot believe that they deserve to be loved so deeply. They question the motives of their loved ones. This is not easy to get over but with constant love and encouragement and reinforcement, they will eventually realise just how worthy they are of your love.
“If you have love in your life it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don’t have it, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough.” ~Ann Landers