“Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood.”

It isn't easy to put aside judgment to attempt to see inside of someone. It takes a lot of pushing away of one's ego.  Love - well, loving someone for who they are, that's even more difficult. Loving someone and giving your heart often means that when it doesn't work out the way you'd hoped, it just feels like a piece of our heart has gone missing. Sometimes it has. Sometimes it never comes back. But the astonishing thing about the heart is it's surrounded by muscles, organs, vessels, blood. Each piece works together to rebuild. The tissue begins to form, the vessels begin to open, the organs begin to function again, the muscles protect. Those missing pieces we lose when we lose love just return in stronger form. I know it sucks, I know how much it hurts when it feels like your heart has been pulled out through your flesh - when it feels like someone's dirty shoes are standing atop it stomping the life out of it. The good news: It's just a feeling. Feelings are spontaneous, often reactionary. I just know that sometimes our hearts surprise us. 

The heart is the most beautiful organ in our bodies. It is full of hope and possibility, but above all, it has the ability to love. Love, by the way, is an unproven emotion. Scientifically it makes no sense. Sadness, happiness, anger - all emotions triggered by an action. But love, love is a spontaneous emotion that just occurs randomly without warning. It takes hold of us completely, sometimes makes us crazy, sometimes gives us peace. I have loved. I have felt so alive. I have experienced passion. I have experienced pain. But the only love I know that will never fade or falter is the love I have for my child. My biggest gift - ever. I look at her and I see my own life, know the heartbreak I've experienced or even caused and I hope she never has to go through that. That she is always strong and open-minded. That she loves and is always loved and encouraged.

Here's my fault: I have this volcano of emotion. I love so vastly and trust BUT somewhere along the lines, I began to lose hope in the romantic kind of love. Too much hurt, too many failures. Nothing is one-sided but I can only look at myself. So here's my advice to anyone almost about to walk away or maybe walked away:

Talk. I have a lot of pride. I expected others to know how I felt. I wanted them to but that's just not how men work. (Now men, you need to also tell us what you want and learn to be better listeners) No relationship can survive if you don't communicate. Isn't that the fundamental lesson in relationships 101? We, women, are masters of "talk" but not so much of emotional reaction. At least not me. I have a lifetime of reasons, all legitimate of why I need understanding and nurturing but it doesn't matter. I've learned the importance of honesty, of NOT withholding information, of trusting someone, of knowing that love, when it's real, will not only be there when you are weak but will revel in you when you are strong. Love cannot be a competition. It has to be your world. The reason you push yourself to be better. But don't make the mistake that someone can heal you or rescue you. YOU have to rescue YOU. You have to believe in who you are as a person and not buy into anything else. We all have work to do on ourselves. Don't be afraid of that. Confront your fears, your past, your insecurities before they confront you. 

The human heart is capable of a great many things, much like the human mind. If the two can have a decent conversation, it's amazing what transpires. Just learn to love without restraint. Like I love my daughter, love without judgment. And when something is bothering you, talk about it, don't just get angry. We all can do a better job of communicating. In the same breath, know when the love isn't healthy. Know when the love isn't feeding your soul. It's the hardest thing you'll ever have to do, but sometimes you need to communicate clearly with yourself. There, that's my communication for the night. Now back to my Albatross - I mean screenplay.