I used to think that love was about giving everything that you have…so I gave it all. I showed up, I stayed late, I listened, and shared every part of me that I thought would make us last. I was giving all that I had. That wasn’t what love needed. At least not the love that I claimed to understand, so I convinced myself I wasn’t enough, that if I tried harder, stayed longer, maybe love would stay too. But love isn’t about trying hard. It’s about growing together and I was too busy trying to make it work to see that we were breaking apart. I wasn’t seeing the truth, I wasn’t letting go and I definitely wasn’t loving myself. Because love isn’t a debt that we pay back or something that we can hold on to. It’s more like laughter or sunlight or a moment that simply exists even if it fades away. So now I don’t try to hold on so tight. I give what I have and if it leaves…well then it’s really not mine to keep.
