I read the above on a Facebook page of a beautiful young girl and for some reason it just stuck in my mind. On the surface I can understand the optimism it poses for a young girl out in this world on her own for the first time. It says that even a woman the world considered exceedingly beautiful was looking for love and not finding it easy.
The other side that struck me, though, was a little bit sad.
So many girls, and boys too, grow up thinking they have to be or do something to make them lovable. They seem to regard love as something to be attained and when it’s looked at that way it is scary.
It’s like wanting it to rain and wondering if you seeded the clouds the right way; if you sing the right songs, dance the right steps, invoke the proper prayers, will you be worthy of being loved?
Sending our children to look for love outside themselves is a fool’s errand.
After all, the love I feel comes from my own feelings and those are already mine, deep inside of me. The love that comes from outside of me is a beautiful affirmation, but it in no way dims the love that is already me.
Instead of teaching our children to follow the tracks that lead to love, how much better it would be to simply show them what love looks like by holding up a mirror.
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