“Life without love is no life at all.”
Leonardo Da Vinci
All we ever want in life is to love and be loved unconditionally.
We want to be accepted for who we are and appreciated for what we have to offer. Some people spend all their lives searching for their soulmate, their perfect match, the one whose mindset will ideally balance with theirs. Others are lucky enough to find that special someone while they’re still young and growing. Sadly, there are also lost souls who never get the chance to feel what it’s like to be unconditionally loved.
The truth is, even if we don’t always see it, almost everything we do is for love. We strive to be better, so the ones we’re fond of could appreciate our efforts. We conquer milestones to make out parents proud.
All we ever want to achieve is somehow in the name of love.
We give all of our energy, time, and devotion to the ones we love, while patiently waiting for them to give all of these emotions back. And even if they don’t share our feelings in the end, we know that at least we have given everything we could.
After all, if we don’t love wholeheartedly, we cannot find our true purpose in this bewildering world we live in.
Many of us know painfully well what it feels like not to be fully accepted and understood. That is why we strive to make sure that the ones we give our love to never get to know that hurtful feeling. We do whatever it takes to let them know how much they mean to us and to never make them doubt our genuine intentions.
If you are someone who struggled for a long time to find the one who would hold your hand through the storms, then you can definitely relate. You are willing to invest every single bit of their energy into making sure the people you deeply care about are happy. You often neglect your own wellbeing while prioritizing other people’s needs. Your selfless soul knows no limits when it comes to love.
Unfortunately, you are also someone who often avoids demanding what you truly deserve. Perhaps out of fear of rejection, you almost never expect others to take your needs into consideration. But if there isn’t balance in what you give and what you receive, and if you don’t take care of your own happiness, how can you have the strength needed to make someone else happy?
Hopefully, one day you will realize that demanding what you deserve does not make you a bad person.
It does not make you unworthy of love. When you find that balance between prioritizing your wellbeing and making sure the ones you love are happy, you will finally sense the feeling of fulfillment you have been craving your whole life. You will understand that you are not taking anything away from anyone by choosing to do something for you.
Investing in self-care is not selfish, it’s necessary. If you give yourself time to comprehend the meaning behind the bigger picture, you will see that you cannot love someone else wholeheartedly and unconditionally, without loving yourself first. Because love is not only about giving your energy away to others and compromising with your personal needs for someone else’s benefit. It is also about standing up for yourself and having the dignity to walk away whenever your tremendous effort is being ignored or undermined.
The best way you can become fully self-aware and start acknowledging your own needs as well as considering the needs of the ones you love is by setting clear boundaries.
This will undoubtedly help you reflect on what truly matters. What is more, it will encourage you to surround yourself with people who are as giving, thoughtful, and caring as you. These people will bring out the best in you and will stimulate you to always strive for more.
As Da Vinci once said, “Life without love is no life at all.” The same goes for life without self-respect. So, to have a life worth living, you need to accept that who you are is enough. To love someone else with your whole heart and soul, you need to learn how to love yourself first. Embrace that love, and never let anyone make you doubt your own worth.
