"Being deeply loved gives you strength. Loving deeply gives you courage"

-Lau Tzu

We often tend to avoid or think twice about situations in which we may hurt ourselves. We like to make sure we are safe, which is why many in this current generation believe in the common stigma against being in a relationship. We tend to say we are not looking to have the "commitment at a young age" or that we don't want to have so much "responsibility." But honestly, we are avoiding the pain.

If you have ever been through heartbreak, you know firsthand how crushing and exhausting the experience is. It takes everything from you. Your thoughts are consumed and racing, your days blend together, your soul literally aches. You put yourself to bed anyway you can, and pass the moments along as quickly as humanly possible. You want time to move along to separate yourself from this period of pure and utter pain. You want your heart to close up and to build your strength up again.

But is this really what strength is? Is it strong of us to keep ourselves closed off from others? Is it strong of us to not care about our relationships? We have all come to believe that those who hold no feelings are the ones with the upper hand. But as a generation, we are strongly mistaken. We are missing out.

We are missing out on that connection where someone knows every corner of our brains and can tell us what were thinking before we even know it ourselves. We are missing out on that feeling of pure joy just by seeing someones face. We are missing out on the euphoria of a feeling so beyond ourselves, because we are scared. Not because we are strong.

Love is being vulnerable. Love is leaving yourself open to someone who could choose to break every part of you at any moment. Love is scary. Love is a state that only the brave are destined for.

Bravery is not the absence of fear, it is fear being present, but deciding to go for it anyways. We are all scared; of the future, of the unknown. We all start off with fear, we all have fear intertwined in our brain down to our hearts. But it is moving past that fear and opening yourself up; that is what love is all about.

Those who have experienced heartbreak and can open themselves up to love again; those are the few who truly know the depths of bravery. Those are the ones that are in touch with the very essence of their souls, and are destined for a love so incredibly strong. Those are the ones who will find life's great love, because they are brave enough to do so.

You give yourself to someone fully, and thus, trust them to hold your heart in the most gentle form one can. They are yours, and you are theirs. And together you are building a strong, yet vulnerable bond. And that is the most beautiful thing a couple can do. Letting go of fear in any part of your life lets you fully experience what is in front of you. So why are we fighting against this?

Here's to those brave enough to bare their souls in the name of love. May your hearts stay free and vulnerable in your journey.