This week’s post I continue my 2021 I choose series, very much inspired by Natasha’s Lunn book “Conversations on Love”, which I finished reading a couple of weeks ago and I highly recommend to all of you.
“Conversations on Love” is not a self-help book but a compilation of different stories and perspectives on love and how people experience it in a wide variety of relationships in real life: from sister to sister, friend to friend, wife to husband, mother to daughter. Natasha Lunn also talks about her own experience of navigating through love and relationships, making “Conversations on Love”, a book with enhanced heart-to-heart and depth reality.
“Conversations on Love” has the power to change perceptions and views on love, opening both our hearts and understanding to what love can be about. Love can be so many things and be expressed in many different ways, but there is still a tendency to get attached to the idea of “romantic love, romance, being a couple or in a relationship with someone else”. “Conversations on Love” challenges this idea, helping you to realise the bigger picture on love, and I’m not talking solely about self-love which as we know is the building block for any form or shape of love, but also and much more about love that is felt between human beings that hasn’t necessarily been spoken about or given much importance in other books, social media channels or in day-to-day conversations between friends or family members.
“Conversations on Love” is raw and vulnerable, sad and hopeful, heartbreaking and kind, painful and joyful. It’s about beginnings and endings, dating and marriage, union and loss, life and death – it’s about everything and that’s why it has occupied a special place in my heart and in my lifetime book-shelf.
Thus, “Conversations on Love” is a breath of fresh air. A book to have next to your bedside table and read over and over again, when you may feel “out of love and alone”. It is a book to recommend to your best friend or an ex-lover or to the people you care most about or also in my case to all of you out there that may benefit from it.
I won’t tell you much more about “Conversations on Love” because I truly want you to read it and hopefully expand your life through it. However, shall I share with you my top 3 ways to always choose love, no matter what, when and where you are?
Ways to choose love:
1. Love yourself first and foremost
I know there is so much talk about self-love these days but it’s never enough to remember that a strong sense of self and loving yourself for who you are are the foundation to develop any sort of healthy and balanced relationship. Self-love can be quite a skill to master, hence it requires daily awareness, reflection and action. It is the most challenging form of love I would say as we can be at times our worst enemies instead of our best friends.
2. Being open to love and to be loved
I’m sure all of you have experienced pain, despair, grief, anger, sadness, anxiety, fear, loss and separation when it comes to relationships at some point in your lives. Despite these, we still have this gigantic ability to love and to be loved if we allow ourselves to; if we allow ourselves to overcome our past experiences and use love as fuel for hope, change and healing.
3. Be curious and see love as diverse
When we understand that love goes beyond the love we can get from a romantic partner our perception of love (and life!) changes forever. Equally our understanding of the world and the people around us change. We may not only become more kind and compassionate but also more awake and curious to what each day may bring and what can fulfil our heart and soul with absolute love, joy and happiness. Love doesn’t only come from people or ourselves but also from things and places, little quirks and routines. I have an endless love for the sea, for coffee and ice-cream, for dancing and writing, for cactus and miniature houses, for long and in-depth conversations/walks and raw vulnerability and authenticity.
What do you understand by love and what is your experience?
Do any of these resonate with you?
Share your wisdom and stories by commenting below
To know more about “Conversations on Love” visit https://www.conversationsonlove.co.uk/ or @conversations_on_love
*Note this review/article is not paid or in any shape or form intended to directly advertise Natasha’s Lunn work – it genuinely comes from the heart and sharing will always be caring.
