There is a lot of advice about dating everywhere you go. Single women have an opinion. Women in relationships and situationships have opinions. Married women have opinions. Everyone has their take.

But in reality… love is fleeting. It’s an experience and a privilege to witness another human being. We shouldn’t take it for granted even when we do unintentionally.

Love is a deeply personal and unique experience. It can take many forms and be expressed in countless ways. The love we feel for our family, friends, and romantic partners is different than the love we have for ourselves. However, all forms of love share a common thread: they all come from within.

Loving and finding love is personal. Your childhood, teen years, young adult life and everything after brings different experiences and each person’s journey is a unique expression of their experience. Finding love within oneself is a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. It means learning to appreciate and value ourselves for who we are, flaws and all. It means being kind to ourselves and treating ourselves with compassion and understanding. When we love ourselves, we radiate positivity and attract love from others.

When you’re alone, sometimes it’s necessary. When you’re surrounded by love, it may also be necessary. Sometimes you find true love, and sometimes, you find it and you lose it. That is ok. We forget how important privilege is in our world. The privilege to love and be loved is one of the most forgotten and lost arts of our time in humanity. As technology increases, quality human interaction decreases.

So what do we do about that? How do we find love in a hopeless place?

We become love. We love so passionately and so proudly that we exude it from our pores. When we are love, we attract it into our energetic fields and it becomes even more chaotic. As the chaos ensues, we become more present and we notice how beautiful, tender and sensitive love is. We allow it to be what it is and how it is without changing it. We bellow in laughter, we cry our eyes out, we scream, we shake, we breathe, we listen, and we accept. We accept love. We expect love. Love becomes us.

Becoming love means embodying the qualities of love in our thoughts, words, and actions. It means being patient, kind, and understanding towards others. It means being generous and selfless, putting the needs of others before our own. It means being forgiving and non-judgmental, recognizing that everyone is on their own journey and making mistakes is a part of being human.

All in all, love is personal, it comes from within, and it’s something that we can actively cultivate. By finding love within ourselves and becoming love, we can build stronger, more meaningful relationships with those around us and lead a more fulfilling life.

Love Always,

Dominique Leshay Alston