“Unconditional love is not so much about how we receive and endure each other, as it is about the deep vow to never, under any condition, stop bringing the flawed truth of who we are to each other.”
- Mark Nepo

In order for any of us to truly offer and experience unconditional love in our hearts and in our lives, we first must begin with ourselves.

Unconditional love doesn’t involve radically accepting anything and everything as okay. Instead, it’s about honesty, self-love and authenticity. It means showing up in the world each and every day with all of who we are, not shrinking or hiding or changing ourselves to fit the innumerable expectations and demands around us.

I spent a better part of my early life playing small out of fear that I wouldn’t be accepted or endeared by those around me. That played out profoundly in the work place where I felt the need to adapt and transform myself to fit the office culture, including the toxic ones.

Now that I’m on my own, running my own show in my own way, and can look back with the eyes of compassion, I see how I allowed my spirit, myself to be compromised. I didn’t feel safe or comfortable bringing my flawed truth to the table. And that, my friends, stunted me for far too long.

Nowadays, I choose differently for myself. I choose my work, my clients and my daily experiences through the filter of unconditional love. I bring awareness and grace to each day in a way that I was too clouded to experience in the past. Sometimes, I screw it all up because we all have our blind spots, our behaviors, our thresholds and the ability to hurt one another unintentionally.

But at the end of the day, I embrace the opportunity to become more of myself and closer to others than I ever was able to before. And in doing so, the businesses and people that I serve, get the very best of what I have to offer.

And for that, I am not only grateful but accepting of all my missteps through the blessing and illumination of unconditional love.