Real or Imitation Love

There’s only one kind of love that can make us whole and give us the happiness we want.  It’s unconditional love. Unconditional love is caring about the happiness of another person without any thought for what we might get for ourselves. It is not unconditional love when other people like us for doing what they want. 

We can be certain that we’re receiving unconditional love only when we make foolish mistakes and fail to do what other people want but they don’t feel disappointed or irritated at us. That love alone has the power to heal all wounds, bind people together, and create relationships quite beyond our present capacity to imagine.

If we don’t have enough unconditional love in our lives, the resulting emptiness is unbearable. We then compulsively try to fill our emptiness with whatever feels good in the moment—money, anger, sex, alcohol, drugs, violence, power, and the conditional approval of others. Anything we use as a substitute for unconditional love becomes a form of Imitation Love.  

Imitation Love feels good for a moment but it never lasts or gives us the feeling of genuine happiness. Most people spend their entire lives trying to fill their emptiness with Imitation Love, but all they achieve is an ever-deepening frustration, interspersed with brief moments of superficial satisfaction. The beauty of unconditional love is that it will eliminate our anger, confusion, and pain. 

Don’t settle for an imitation love when only real (unconditional) love will do.