I finally realized that not every connection is meant to last, and not every love is meant to be returned in the way it’s given. Some people enter our lives as mirrors, others as lessons. I was placed in certain lives to love deeply, freely, without conditions or expectations, to show what gentleness, patience, and devotion look like when they are real. I loved in a way that asked for nothing back, believing that love itself was enough.
But those same people were placed in my life with a different purpose. They came not to complete me, but to awaken me. Through their absence, their limitations, or their inability to love me in the same way, they taught me something far more difficult than loving others: loving myself. They taught me that my worth is not measured by how much I give, how much I endure, or how deeply I sacrifice.
I learned that unconditional love does not mean self-abandonment. It does not require shrinking, waiting, or hoping someone will one day meet me where I already stand. Self-love arrived quietly, in the moments I chose myself instead of familiarity, peace instead of attachment, and dignity instead of longing.
Now I understand: some people receive love so they can heal, and some people withhold love so we can learn to stop overgiving. Both roles are sacred. Both leave their mark. And when the lesson is complete, gratitude replaces resentment, because every love (returned or not) leads us closer to who we are meant to be.