Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! And Shine ! – Buddha

I learn to love from my family

I never doubt my family’s love. Even in the midst of absolute crazy, or perhaps most profoundly in moments of absolute crazy, I never doubt their love. My grandmothers taught me the power of being the apple of an eye, of hanging the moon and stars, of the kind of love that lights a room when you enter. I hope we all know what it is like to be perfect in someone’s eyes. My brother and I knew that love in them. My parents taught me that God is love. That is a gift  I draw upon daily. My brother taught me the power of stories that no one else understands the same way. That is definitely a love beyond words. My nieces taught me what it means to love someone so much you would change the world to surround their path in health and joy. I would wrestle tigers for them. My family’s love is the definition of deep, true, and abiding.

I learn to love from my husband.

There is not one moment in which I learn about love from my husband. Our love unfolds quietly. It happens when my dreams stall and he still supports my belief and passion. It happens when I don’t feel shiny and he still sees my shine. It happens when he checks in during the day and holds me at night. It happens when we take a trip or sit on the couch. There is comfort and wholeness in all that. It happens when my joy is his joy. I see that in his eyes when I am at my most joyful. It happens when we commit to goals together. When we got married, we promised to support each other to be our best selves. Being our best selves does not have an exact trajectory. I am learning that the unfolding, the not giving up, is the love. My husband’s love does not give up.

I learn love from my best friend.

The love of my best friend teaches me something everyday. We have been best friends for more than 35 years. Those years have included miles and marriages, births and deaths, tears and curse words, our bests and worsts, fierce defense when one of us is attacked and absolute joy in the other’s accomplishments. That is what life looks life. That is what love looks like. Time teaches us so much about the power of constancy, the roots of a tree, the rhythm of the seasons. That is the love of my best friend. It simply is.

https://kitt.global/july-8-moments-not-words-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/