Loving with all you have isn't weakness, it's strength.

Be authentic. Unapologetically true. No lies. No masks. Bare and vulnerable. That way there aren’t any regrets. No apologies to your future self, no condolences for killing who you once were but no longer are. Hold your heart with gentle hands and love yourself tenderly.

No one wants a replica.

No one wants a replica. We all seek out that which is original – something special and unique to us. Something that has been made, molded, shaped, and refined for us only. What could be more original, more uniquely made than ourselves: the way we love, the way we care, the way we provide and support and nourish; the actions, the words, the spirit all originate from the same intention to love and show love.

But... That love is wonderfully nuanced from person to person. Finding it, that perfect love, is a challenge. The challenge.

Finding it is the truest test in love: when our imperfections and our shortcomings and our insecurities are as perfect as our strengths, skills, and confidences. To share a love where imperfections aren't flaws to forgive, but precious pieces that make us love more deeply, more fiercely, more intensely. Because these "imperfections"? They are a perfect puzzle piece that fits just so with the ridges and lines of our souls. These imperfections? They are the reason why we love them so deeply, with every fiber of our being.