What is Love?

A few nights ago my friend Ankit asked me what I thought Love was. At the time, I thought that there were so many different types of love that I really struggled to answer him. The love of a child, the love of a parent, the love of a friend, the love of a partner….. What I did say, was that I thought you had to first be truthful and show love to yourself before you could show love to another. I still believe this is true and now I have learned that there is only one type of Love.We both were hurt by our loved ones who went away from us. Ankit so wants me to walk away from the situation and from the girl. During this time I found my answer for him about what l think love is.I wrote a mail to him. Here it is:Ankit,I think I have finally found my answer to your question, "What is love?" Real love truly is unconditional!!I have been looking back to the times I spent with my Grandmother. As you know, I grew up with her. I was not very nice to her at times - as most teenagers. As I was growing up, I really did do some nasty things to hurt her.You know Ankit, she was always there to forgive me, once I realized my mistakes. She did this openly and honestly and with her arms wide open. Her love never judged me. Her love never condemned me. Her love never knew spiteful words. She would tell me that my actions had hurt her, but never did she lash out in retaliation by saying mean things or even to punish me - ever.
She held me up, she let me become myself and then she let me go.To me, if you can't love without judging, then you do not love. If you can't love without expectation, then you do not love. If you can't love just because you can - then why would you do it? Does someone have to show you love in return, for you to feel it for them? My grandmother never did. She just loved all of me. No matter what my actions displayed.I believe that to love, you have to be patient. To love, you have to be kind. To love, you have to be generous.

I'm not saying that you should put your life on hold, but all the same, I don't believe that you should turn your back just because that person hasn't yet found the strength to know who they are yet. And let's face it - this is the only reason people lie. They are lying to themselves really - not to us.You can still love them Ankit.Sometimes people just make mistakes. This is their walk - not ours. Their life lessons - not ours. Who are we to judge? And if you truly did love in the first place, then you will be there always for them. To me, this is real love.Ankit, I can let her go. I can walk away and start afresh now. But still I do love her a lot.=============================================================So never ever stop yourself from loving someone. Give love as much as you can. It can just bring smiles and happiness and not tears. :)