05/23/2025 (Home Day 5): Unconditional Love

Today was completely full. I got to meet up with lots of people at lots of different places and got to have lots of great conversations, and I’m so glad I was able to actually see everyone, including a couple of unexpected people. 

So far everyone’s been really receptive to the possibility of our return, and I’m really feeling the love from everyone. I’m just happy to feel the support as we contemplate a really big and life changing decision. I know that even if people come and go that family will always be a loving constant on either side. 

I’ve been thinking a lot the past couple of days about unconditional love, and what it has meant to me over the years when I’ve received it. Unconditional love is doing things out of the kindness of your heart, no matter what you get back, and especially when you receive nothing in return while also not expecting it. Unconditional love is the pure moments of selflessness, the willingness to do hard things, to be there when things are far from easy. Unconditional love is not complaining about these hard things, or selfishly pitying yourself when someone else you love needs the time and attention you might need more. Unconditional love is all the small things that go unnoticed, the unspoken understanding of what you’re willing to give for another. Unconditional love is also the big things, those grand gestures that move and inspire those we care about most. Unconditional love is expressed in so many unique ways that are hard to quantify, but you always know when you feel it or someone else feels it towards you. 

Conditional love is doing things out of the selfishness of your heart based on what you may get back, and especially when you receive something in return while also expecting it. Conditional love is the mean moments of selfishness, the unwillingness to do hard things, or the refusal to be there when things are far from easy. Conditional love is complaining about these hard things, or selfishly pitying yourself when someone else you love needs the time and attention you think you need more. Conditional love is all the small things that don’t always go unnoticed, the unspoken expressions and gestures that signify you’re not willing to give for another, not to mention the spoken words of anger or impatience. Conditional love is also the big things, those grand expressions and gestures that hurt and discourage those we care about most from ever realizing their potential, or even believing that they are or can be loved. Conditional love is also expressed in so many unique ways that are hard to quantify, but you always know when you feel it or someone else feels it towards you.

I think everyone experiences their fair share of both kinds of love in their own ways, but the distinction between the two is the same no matter how either one is expressed. I just wish there was a lot more unconditional love going around than the conditional kind. But I can’t say I’m not one of the lucky ones that has an abundance of it in my life. I just have to be willing to look around.