LOVE IS A CHOICE

What the heck does that mean?

Well...it's a little complicated.

Love is a choice...

To love is not a choice... Who you love is not a choice... you love who you love ... IF you are open to it.

The world is full of crazy shit, crazy people and crazy expectations but love... love is the center of that which makes us human, the glue that holds our minds together and gives us the innate ability to make sense of what has been handed to us, drives us to what we are desperately yearning to achieve/ accomplish, and holds us back from tearing up those around us who do not live in harmony with our perceptions.   Love is what it is... when it wants, and how it wants and I think that is why we are all so different.  Love and compassion present themselves differently to each of us as we grow and change... It becomes apart of us and as so we "conclude" what this must mean to us and therefore should mean to everyone else.

There are three types of people I see in the world.  They fall into these big categories and each one has people you would never expect to see there... but who they are and what they believe in reliance to life and love are the same.

We have the open lovers.  Those of us who love openly... and allow others to love openly.  They care about anyone.  They believe everyone has value.  If someone needs help, their heart is open to them.  These people are our Diamonds.  They shine so brightly and they attract a lot of people... unfortunately these types of may also be taken advantage of, used, and sometimes even harassed/stalked because others desperately want to be in their loving light.  

Then we have the restricted lovers.   Those who feel love is a gift meant for only those who they have a deep connection with.  They may still care (to some degree) that these other people in the world are alright but their existence and importance is not weighed into their decisions.  These people tend to have a  hard time seeing other peoples point of view... these people hold grudges so deep sometimes that they refuse to help someone who may have wronged them.  (This is in reference to someone who has stepped on their toes one too many times not someone who truly tried to hurt them).  

Lastly we have those who refuse love.  Those who are so completely self involved that they can not see the worth of someone else.  Some times it's someone who has so little love and respect for themselves that they are unable to comprehend or find it in the world around them.  These people I feel are usually transitional.  For one reason or another they are in between either of the first two types and are temporarily lost... however sometimes, people choose to be here.  To love another human being means you must know how to love yourself.  This can be tricky for some of us.

I've seen many people... grow up... seen many others grow old... and by the end... it is obvious that this Love we express and understand... is chosen.

Children are born into this world loving openly.  They are a blank slate...  All they want is compassion, attention, acceptance... this peeks usually around the age of 6.  (In my observations.)  This is where the world begins to weigh on them.  Choices, responsibilities, and self love.  As they grow older... we begin to fit (usually) into the first two categories.  The Open lover is very common in teenagers and young adults these days.  The time I see things begin to shift are between the ages of 24-30.  People begin to get sucked so deeply into our society, the adult responsibilities and expectations to please these people around us many people begin to forget what it's like to think about the world as a whole.. start losing the ability to see other people as whole human beings.

I'd like to say that the cycle ends here.  That some of us lose our way a little bit and then they are fine... but...
thats not the case.  The very common term "Bitter old man/woman" comes to mind.  Usually it's in this stage of life I've noticed a very important change happen.  Peoples perception of their ever changing environment and social norms either push them to reject that which is being built around them, they close part of themselves off and hold on tight to that which they understand even as it shrinks from the world around them, or those who accept the world, it's people including themselves as ever changing and begin to love openly once more.

This choice can be a hard one to make after 40 years of weight on your shoulders... but it is a choice none the less.  Stay open.. stay loving... choose to be happy... and you will find love... or rather... it will find you.