How to Recognize Real Love

We are called to love.

Love, unlike infatuation or lust, remains steadfast in the face of difficulty; it stands the test of time. It is a decision; a commitment.

Love may require sacrifice, it may mean carrying another's burden. It includes empathy, the ability to imagine being in someone else's shoes in a particular life experience; and compassion, suffering with another person while they are experiencing a difficulty in life.

It may look like lifting up another person when they have fallen down under the weight of the burdens of life or seeing what is the best in another person and helping them to see themselves and their importance and value in the world.

It may mean pouring out patience and forgiveness for a long time. It may look like accepting another person with all of their human foibles, tolerating their differences and looking for and focusing upon similarities you share.

It may also mean correcting and truth-telling when it is obvious that a person is headed for a cliff or drinking from a poisoned well. Love may require courage.

To Love is to live at the highest vibration. It may be easy at times, yet it is frequently difficult and it provides the greatest of rewards.