Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more.

It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you.

It is often difficult to admit that someone you love is not perfect, or to consider aspects of a person that are less than admirable.

The Way Damaged People Love

Damaged people love you like you are a crime scene
before a crime has even been committed
They keep their running shoes beside their souls every night,
one eye open in case things change whilst they sleep.
Their backs are always tense as though waiting
to fight a sudden storm that might engulf them.

Because damaged people have already seen hell.

And damaged people understand that every evil demon
That exists down their was once a kind angel before it fell.

Our difficult loved ones are in our lives to teach us tolerance. Meet people with love even when they don’t meet you with love.

It is difficult to love someone who loves you, but easy to hate someone who loves you, and love someone who hates you.

The hard part of loving is that one has to learn so often to let go of those we love, so they can do things, so they can grow, so they can return to us with an even richer, deeper love.

But, when the chips are down, its better to be furious with someone you love, or frightened for someone you love, than be put through the merciless horror of being ashamed of someone you love.

I have come to realize that bad times coupled with good reflections provide some of the best lessons, and not just about business but also about relationships. One has many more supposed friends when one is up than when one is down, because most people like to be with winners and shun losers. True friends are the opposite.

Stop thinking that being sad or broken makes you unlovable or “bad.” Your honest moments don’t destroy relationships, they bond (as long as you’re being genuine).

Life's had to break you down so you could be rebuilt

We have to break this cycle, back up, regroup, and bring some sanity to our lives so we’ll have the perspective, energy, and compassion for the people we see each day, and especially those who live under the same roof with us. Then we can love them like we love ourselves.

or to what we hope they are. The more we work through our family of origin issues, the less we will find ourselves needing to work through them with the people we’re attracted to. Finishing our business from the past helps us form new and healthier relationships. The more we overcome our need to be excessive caretakers, the less we will find ourselves attracted to people who need to be constantly taken care of. The more we learn to love and respect ourselves, the more we will become attracted to people who will love and respect us and who we can safely love and respect. This is a slow process. We need to be patient with ourselves. The type of people we find ourselves attracted to does not change overnight. Being attracted to dysfunctional people can linger long and well into recovery. That does not mean we need to allow it to control us. The fact is, we will initiate and maintain relationships with people we need to be with until we learn what it is we need to learn — no matter how long we’ve been recovering. No matter who we find ourselves relating to, and what we discover happening in the relationship, the issue is still about us, and not about the other person. That is the heart, the hope, and the power of recovery.

Become fluent in the language of letting go. Learn to give people up before they hurt you beyond repair. Even if they tell you that they will change. Even if they tell you that they love you. Just remember, love isn’t meant to be permanently damaging. Love is meant to aid your healing.