Love and Acceptance: The Art of True Care

Love is simple. Or at least it should be. Essentially, love is about supporting another person in their choices, no matter what those choices are.

Love is simple. Or at least it should be. Essentially, love is about supporting another person in their choices, no matter what those choices are.

When you try to change someone to be different from who they are, that's not love. If you want someone else to act differently for your comfort or benefit, that isn't love either. True love is about supporting someone in choosing what is best for them, without pressure or manipulation.

The Essence of Love

Love is the ability to accept someone as they are and trust that they can handle reality. In this sense, love offers freedom of choice rather than dictating decisions. Ultimately, manipulation—opposite of love—involves trying to make someone do what benefits you, even if it harms them.

Manipulation comes from an inability to accept things as they are, whether it's a partner, business partner, or family member. It’s the desire to have things go your way instead of accepting the natural course of events.

The Reality of Love

Love is actually infinitely difficult. Often, to truly love means to accept another’s choices, even if it leads to your own suffering. For example, if someone decides to end a relationship with you, love means supporting that decision rather than wishing they would choose differently.

This reality, though hard, is an integral part of true love. So how do we cultivate genuine love?

The Path to Acceptance

The first step is deep acceptance. Accept that if someone doesn’t like you, that’s okay. If someone likes you, that’s okay too. If someone liked you and now doesn’t, that’s okay. If you don’t like yourself, that’s okay.

Learning to love yourself can be challenging, and that’s okay. Even if you have intense social anxiety, that’s okay.

Ultimately, no matter how difficult the experience or how deep the pain of loss, it’s all okay. There was never a moment when it wasn’t. This is what love is.

Love in the Newsletter

This text is my attempt to support your choices and guide us all toward greater self-awareness and better decision-making. I’m not perfect and often fall short of this goal, but every piece of writing is a step in the right direction.

I hope it’s helpful, but if it’s not, that’s okay too.