Love, love.

I had a conversation with a client the other day about love. She was talking about being frustrated with being in one relationship after another and wondering what the point of dating was... wondering if she would ever find the one... wondering if the concept of the one exists. 

My response to her statements and questions surprised me.

I told her that I wasn't sure that there was only one the one out there, and that I think that there are people that we have in our lives that we fall in love with at different times in our lives and for different reasons. We further discussed that this could be why we never forget about our "first love" because of the newness of the feelings and experiences, but that when you develop a mature loving relationship you wonder how you could have ever felt that way about someone else before. We truly can't compare any type of love, because they are all so unique and special to us -- all for different reasons, all carrying their own set of thoughts and feelings with them. We had a really good discussion about relationships in general, about love with dating, friendships, and family.

And of course, like I always do, the theme of that session stuck with me.

I started reflecting on my own relationships, past and present, and thinking about why I love (and have loved) each person in my life...

- I love B because he has supported every decision I've made, whether or not he's liked it.
- I love J because she never judges me and always helps me develop a plan of action.
- I love T because we have incredible respect for one another and I can't help but smile when I see him.
- I love M because she took me under her wing during college, and has turned into one of my dear friends.
- I love S because no matter how much time passes between our lunches, we always pick up right where we left off.
- I love D because he makes me laugh. All the time. Without fail.

I used to think that the words "I love you" could only be reserved for critical people. That simply isn't true anymore. It felt weird at first -- saying I love you to friends -- but the more and more that I say it, the better it feels; the more confidence I have letting the people I care about know how much they mean to me.

I think that we don't have just one the one... rather, we have many ones who we fall in love with. Whether it's their throw-the-head-back laughter, their passion for life, their courage to face life's challenges... whatever it is. Fall in love with it. Because you aren't the same without it being present in your life. There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice.