Forgiveness is the most powerful element of love. Because unless we forgive ourselves our own shortcomings, our expectations and our judgments, we will never be able to find it in our own hearts to forgive those we love, no matter the circumstances. For if there is one thing that is constant in imagining love, especially for women, it is the never ending romantic fantasy that all is miraculously perfect and sublime, with happily ever after a constant trail we look for every day of our waking relationship. The shortfall of this dream crashing to earth often causes disillusionment in the best of partnerships. The human reality of love being something so unattractive that we can hardly bare its ordinariness.
Love also strengthens through tests, and true love never dissipates, regardless of calamity.
Compassion is another part of our heart s center that allows us to move away from our ego, putting ourselves in our lover s place. It s a partner to empathy, which makes us a better listener when calamity comes knocking. Our ego would not want to be bothered or wonder how the mess happened in the first place. It would simply want the cause of the pain gone. Our heart is interested in how something happened, but is more concerned in what can be done to soothe the pain.