what is true loveI love sitting on a beach and just relaxing. Granted I live in Los Angeles and there are plenty of beaches there. But nothing is better than taking yourself away from your day to day activity. There’s nothing like being able to connect with family and friends, instead of worrying about work or why a guy didn’t call or text when he promised.

Today, I’m spending another day in East Hampton with my Brother, his wife, and their 2-year-old son. It’s beautiful to watch my brother grow up to be the Dad he always wanted to be. It’s amazing to see him turn into the Father we never had. Part of life is recognizing where you want to go and what you want to be, but it’s also forgiving the past.

I grew up in a tumultuous household, complete with a disconnected Father and a disconnected Mom. They did the best job they possibly could do, but they were just so unconnected from the day-to-day life presented to them. Lots of things in their life caused this disconnect, and that’s what’s really interesting. It made me look deeper into what real love was to me.

Love enables you to continue to hope, to contribute, and to become a great man. When you truly love someone, you enable to them to swim freely and be the person they’re supposed to be. But so many relationships, whether they’re mother/daughter, mother/son, father/daughter, whatever, are too constricting. Real love allows and accepts the other person for who they are and what they want to be. Real love allows them to blossom into the beautiful person they can be, and supports what they’re all about.

Do You Know How To Show True Love?

Relationships shouldn’t be so constricting. You should never try to fix or change somebody into the person you want them to be, instead of letting them be who they are. Real love has no boundaries. Think about this in all your relationships new and old. I don’t just mean your romantic relationships either. I mean relationships with your parents, friends, and wider family.

Did you listen to them unconditionally? Did you really hear their words when they needed you to? Did you let them swim freely? Did you listen to what they said, instead of just reacting and not hearing?

Next time someone you love comes to talk to you, realize it’s taken a lot for them to let go and say what they needed to say. You need to listen and not just react so quickly. When you react super quick to them you’re not letting them express themselves freely. To love freely is to allow someone to be. If they’re not what you want then you have to decide whether to love them freely, or to let them go. We really need to stop expecting things from people and stop crushing other’s character.

I do this with my daughter. I don’t expect her to be anything except who she is. Whatever she’s into now, whether it’s Ariel, Anna, or Mickey Mouse. I go with whatever flow she’s presenting to me. I plan to do that in all my relationships. I plan to allow, flow, and support. Just like water. If you’re not doing that, you’re not practicing real love, and worse, you’re stopping them being the person they were born to be. Let your loved ones flourish. Nurture and nourish the ones you love and see how much better love can feel in all areas of your life.