Union with oneself — when you truly love someone, the greatest teacher who shows us who we are is love

The longing, the fear, the uncertainty, the vulnerability — these are the very things that expose us to the shadows we refuse to see. The ones we avoid taking ownership of or hide for fear of being seen as weak. So we bury them. Until one day, we meet someone we truly love.

Love becomes a mirror, reflecting the deep longing for home that has always lived within us. It is only through love that we, as human beings, become willing to build a home with someone else — a home that holds all our emotions, imperfections, and truths. Love asks for honesty, vulnerability, courage, and warmth. We build this home in the hope that, by doing so, we may finally stay with the one we love.

Yet when those raw emotions surface, they confront us with who we truly are — including the parts we are not yet ready to see. That confrontation can turn into constant striving and chasing, mistaking love as something to secure or control. But the real antidote, ironically, is not the other person. It is the union within oneself.

When we love, a part of that love is acceptance — which is why rejection feels so painful. Deep down, we all long for that one love that can save or soothe us, so we won’t have to face our own pain and shadows. But love doesn’t exist to rescue us. Love exists to reveal us.

Love is the real teacher in our world. It teaches us who we are. It reveals our vulnerabilities, our strengths, our wounds, and our fears. Love asks us to look deeply into the places we often avoid — and that is why so many of us turn away from it. Because true love doesn’t just bring warmth and connection. It brings awareness. It shows us what is missing, what still longs to be seen, and what has been quietly hurting inside us.

To experience true love and receive it fully, we must be as raw and honest as possible. It is a paradox. If we cannot give, we cannot receive. Yet giving and receiving in love is not about asking someone else to fill our emptiness. It is about opening ourselves completely — allowing every part of who we are, even the ones that frighten us, to be seen and held.

The deepest union in love is not with another person — it is with ourselves. To truly love, we must first look inward, face every part of who we are, and make peace with the truths we have hidden. Until that inner union happens, the love we seek outside will always feel just beyond reach.

The hardest part of love is to open our hearts without knowing the outcome. To give ourselves fully without guarantees, and to be vulnerable — not because we believe someone will catch us, but because we are willing to meet ourselves there. Vulnerability is not weakness; it is the purest form of strength. It is a gift we give to our own becoming.

The gift of love is not for another to fix or rescue. It is an invitation to face our shadow and softly say, I see you. We are together now. True love is painful, terrifying, vulnerable, and breathtakingly beautiful. It is through our vulnerabilities that we learn to feel deeply and discover the depth of love we are capable of giving.

And in that space of openness, we realise how much we have been holding back. Only by opening fully — allowing ourselves to be seen, to feel, to love — can we return to the wholeness that has been waiting within us all along.