sky to heaven - the invisible life.

Love is like a circle with two sides: to love and to be loved. If you only had one choice, where would you stand? To love or be loved?

Before I met her, I would have chosen to be loved. Because to love can be hard. You have to open your heart, and that can be dangerous. You can give them everything, but maybe they only give you a little back. This puts you in a very weak position. You can get hurt or used. Maybe they will not love you like you love them. And maybe one day they will leave you. Give up on you.

But when you are loved, you feel safe. You know the other person won’t try to hurt you. They will always be there for you – to protect you, take care of you, and try to make you happy. You can depend on them. And they will never want to leave you because they love you. They would never give you up.

But after I met her, I chose to love. When you love someone, you feel you can do anything for this person – and also anything you CAN’T for this person. You don’t feel afraid. To love makes you stronger, not weaker. That is the power of love. And when you love someone, they are the most beautiful person in the world. And the whole world is beautiful - even the most ordinary things. A falling leaf, a mother walking with her child, a bird flying in the sky. Every day is beautiful, because you are sharing the same world as the person you love. And that is the beauty of love.

But now she is gone - and I am still here. Part of learning how to love is letting go of the ones you love - and seeing what you gain by letting go. I lost her, but I gained the love that still lives inside my heart. Because in every loss, there really is a gain – you just have to know how to see it.

I look back and see that the need to be loved is – just a need. It is not love. People are afraid to get hurt, so they want to feel safe. But this means your heart is closed. The love you keep inside you is trapped – and you are the one who keeps it there. And to love someone – can also be just a need. People think they need another person in order to have love. They look for the power and beauty of love in other people because they cannot see these things inside themselves.

The power, the beauty, the love - I think you have to see and grow these things inside yourself before you can have a love that doesn’t break. To love and to be loved: maybe this circle should first be completed inside you – not with another person. Maybe only then can you create a circle of love with another person that lasts.