love

i've been thinking about love a lot the last couple of days and it keeps coming up in various forms in different conversations with people.   ideas about selfless vs selfish love and the different forms it can take, a friendly love, a love for someone you just met, a deeper love, family love, the list goes on and on.  also the importance of really being able to love yourself before you can truly love another.  the importance of being grounded and satisfied with yourself and the things that you are before you can branch out and start loving others.  like a tree must root down before it can grow up and out.  sometimes its much harder than it sounds and other times it seems to come so easily - just like all things in life.  

i wanted to take a moment to tell all of you how much you mean to me and to thank you all for the various forms of love you have both given to and received from me.  i feel such a pure, true, deep love for many of you that i have really come to understand and appreciate much more recently.  before i left, while i was gone, and during my return so many of you have been there for me in ways that i don't think you are even aware of and i want to acknowledge that.  i am so lucky to live the life that i do and so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people.  i guess what i'm trying to say is thank you for all that you are and everything that you do and for not only being a part of my life but also letting me be a part of yours.

i love you