How do we understand love? I believe since the day I was born, I have been searching for peace in love. Peace in knowing how to receive and peace in knowing how to give. I used to think it was a self-assigned journey. That, I, out of the billions of people out there, have this unique challenge to dig out the roots of love, to nourish them, plant them someplace new, and let them sprout for a new generation. How wrong I was.

Love is not something for me to understand. It is a gift for all of us – for each one of us to make sense of. (And for those of you who see love as a curse, I am sorry for you.)

For even I who experience love and pain so deeply know, without a doubt, that love is a gift. Even when it hurts. Even when you discover secrets in its dark holes. Even when you feel like you cannot bear it anymore.

Love shines because it is within you. It is a part of you. Love shines in me not because it is love and that is love’s job. But because I shine from within.