The Greatest Love of All

“I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all” Whitney Huston, The Greatest Love of All


I wish I could say that I have never forgotten the greatest love of all. How often have you forgotten to love yourself, first? It seems inconceivable to do anything else, but I have been guilty from time to time. I truly love me and I want the best of the best, but sometimes I give too much thinking the return is greater. I live to love and desire to be loved.

When I find that my life is out of balanced I turn inward to ask myself a very valuable question. Where is the love in this matter? Love is the one thing that we all desire to have. We don’t have to speak the same language or have the same religious beliefs, but we all desire to experience love. Love is universal. And the funny thing is we don’t have to seek a mate to find it, we already have it. We are love. We came from love, and when we die we will return to love. However, we all seek to know the love of another.

Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend and he asked, “What’s the difference between loving someone and being in–love with someone?” There is a big difference. We can love many people all at the same time i.e. I love my mother, my father, my siblings, my friends, etc., but when you are in-love, that suggest romance. Being in-love with someone means that you have a romantic and intimate affection for the person. When people fall out of love with someone doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t love the person, they just may not be in-love with the person. Meaning that they care, but not in a romantic way, anymore.

This can be difficult to understand when you may still have feelings for someone. Maybe, they haven’t given you closure or at least the closure you desire. Most of the time when we are in a relationship we become attached to what we want this person to be, and not necessarily who this person is. This is when we need to ask ourselves some very valuable questions. What do “I” really want? Can s/he give me that? Does this relationship serve our best good?

If you are honest, it won’t matter if they fall out of love with you, because the love you have for yourself is what really matters the most. It may be difficult, but you will attract real love, and the one who really loves you. An old wise man once told me, “When a man really loves you, he will do all that he cans to make sure that you know.” Love is not difficult. We make it difficult. Love is rather simple. Stay true to who you are and what you believe. Always be honest with yourself and the other person.

It is when we get attached to our illusions, that we loose focus of what true love is. True love is the greatest love of all, the love that you have for yourself. When you love you, then someone else will see the love. When you love you, you attract love to you. When you love you, you don’t settle for anything else in return. So, if you want to experience love, begin with being in-love with the most important person in your life — YOU!

Today, I am taking my own advice and loving everything about who I am, and knowing that sometimes you fall in-love with a person seasonally, prematurely, or indefinitely. However, love is given to you not hold on to, but to give away. The more you give, the more you get. Nothing in this life is promised. We have no pocessions. We only have time to borrow, experience, and learn the lessons we need from the people we meet. Remember, if you want to experience love, first have a relationship with yourself.