Love is not something that exists outside of us, beyond our being, consciousness, or heart. Love is our state, and we are solely responsible for it. Love cannot be killed from the outside—only from within. Love is not killed by those we love. It is killed by our expectations of our loved ones. And expectations are never fulfilled. Of course, there are coincidences, but they are merely exceptions that prove the rule.
Love is killed by expectations, by the demands we place on our loved ones to act in a certain way, to be who we want them to be. But that’s not how it works. It’s either acceptance (which, in reality, is love) or suffocation (hanging, crucifixion, etc.) of love.
From what has been said, a conclusion naturally follows, which automatically offers the simplest solution to the problem of not loving ourselves: don’t expect anything from yourself, don’t demand, don’t accuse. Just accept.
Now that I’ve come to this conclusion from yet another perspective, will I continue to resist and insist on becoming perfect? No, I’ll keep going, and one day I’ll wake up and realize that this fanatical striving for perfection has completely lost its meaning and is simply foolish. Not only will I see it, but I’ll understand it, feel it with every cell of my body. And with every cell, every breath, I’ll breathe it in, penetrate the realization that there is nothing more beautiful than being myself.