Are you loving enough?

Do we give people a chance to love us? Or are we too demanding? Too controlling? Too inflexible?

Leo Buscaglia wrote in "Loving Each Other" (one of my all-time favorite books): "We are not evil, inadequate or incompetent when our relationships fail. It may have been that we were simply overconfident about them, not adequately prepared for them or unrealistic in our expectations of them. Not all relationships are right. As long as values change, insights expand, human façades remain impenetrable and human behaviors unpredictable, we will make mistakes."

"The very measure of a good relationship is in how much it encourages optimal intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth. So, if a relationship becomes destructive, endangers our human dignity, prevents us from growing, continually depresses and demoralizes us - then, unless we are masochists and enjoy misery, we must eventually terminate it. We are not for everyone and everyone is not for us. The question is: If we cannot be with another, can we at least not hurt them? Can we, at least, find a way to coexist?"

Relationships involve the big word "commitment"; we have to be willing to make them work - and work hard to keep them healthy, caring and loving. We have to be willing to "compromise". We all have our weaknesses and our strengths; but when we learn to concentrate in the "good in others", give them the benefit of the doubt, and become very respectful and patient with them, our relationships - most likely- will be successful and happy ones. Is it easy? No... but it's definitely worth it to try our best!

"Look for the good in others, everybody has their own song to sing."

"Give people a chance to love you, for that is how you learn to love."

"To pursuit, create, build and preserve our loving relationships, should be our most important priority in life."

"She who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which she must pass herself." George Herbert

"We can only trust others when we learn to trust ourselves... We can only forgive others when we learn to forgive ourselves... We can only love others when we learn to love ourselves..."