Love Harder- A Short Lesson From Heartbreak

Photo by Wyron A on Unsplash

We can both protect our hearts and open them. It’s not one or the other. One requires the other- Mark Groves

Love is full of trial and error.

After going through a divorce, I now understand why love is exciting, daunting, and one of the greatest adventures you can ever embark upon.

Love invites us to do strange, beautiful, and funny things.

We all want a deeper connection with ourselves. A better relationship with our partners, family, and friends. Yet, it seems as if the expectations for love have never been higher as we get lost in a fantasy instead of letting love take its course.

Love becomes a destination rather than a journey, and we do everything but the very thing we crave most as humans.

Through heartbreak, I gained valuable revelations that have allowed me to love harder. And while love is never as simple as it seems, I do believe we can always learn to love more.

Love isn’t our enemy, but our ally.

Each of our heartbreaks offers us a superhighway to something bigger than ourselves, and lessons that teach us to love harder.

I went through a dark time after my divorce. I forced myself into a deep depression and developed coping mechanisms to stop myself from loving harder because I was afraid of love. That fear prevented me from opening up my heart as I filled my life with darkness to avoid getting hurt.

The fear of abandonment was something I held onto since childhood, and it was important to me to maintain my independence and self-sufficiency rather than live with an open heart.

Funny how love works.

Our fears are a path for destruction. If we let them, they will lead to less connectedness, warmth, and satisfaction in our relationships. We can’t live with an open heart if we don’t change our relationship with love.

Despite divorce tearing me apart, I have found strength from my wounds, and I am discovering my love has no fear. The emotions that come with loving harder encourage me to open back up to the world. I am more present with my daughter, laughing again, and…