i'm still learning

[stolen from mel, who got it from mike.] * * * * * TO LOVE... If you're afraid to love a person because of friendship, then you have choices: either to tell what you feel and let the love take place forever; or to hide the feeling under a friendship full of pretentions. Love can never be so beautiful without friendship; one leads to another and the process is irreversible... the best of lovers are the greatest of friends!!! Love doesn't have to have a happy ending because love doesn't have to end at all. A man realized he wanted his love back not wanting to be hurt again. The girl said "no". The man cried out to God, "if it was meant to be, why did I lose her?" God replied, "You didn't lose her... you let her go!" When you love someone, don't expect that person to love you back the same amount. One of you will be ahead, the other behind. It's either you catch up or the other waits. When you love, its not for you to be understood but for you to understand; not for you to take but for you to be taken, to listen not to dictate; to sacrifice, not to demand; not to count nor measure but to love... Love is not wondering how long it will last... love is wondering how long it will stay in your heart. Think and take time to listen to your heart. Sometimes you need not ask yourself who you love more but ask who really makes you happy and who makes you feel loved. People who are not willing to make a sacrifice are lying when they tell you they love you. The test of love is our capacity to sacrifice. We come to love not by finding a perfect person but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. Letting go of someone dear to you is hard but holding on to someone who doesn't even feel the same is much harder. Giving up doesn't mean you're weak; it only means that you are strong enough to let go. To love is like playing the piano. First, you must learn to play by the rules. Then you must forget the rules and play from your heart. One should not love just to fill in an empty space but to have someone to stay by his side to complete the missing piece in his life. If you want to catch a butterfly, don't run after it. Instead, just sit down and open your hands. It will land on your palm when it needs a rest... that's the way to find love. In love, never put yourself in a situation where you are not sure where you stand in a person's life. Never assume, never expect. So that if they choose to drop you, you have enough strength to move on... * * * * * a lot of these struck me pretty hard, so i thought i'd share. but yeah, i'm still learning how to love (again), how to open myself back up, and when to stand still. some of you know the deal, others....well it's okay that you don't. but i know in time i'll know which way i'm going, until then i'm fine as is...