The Ultimate Guide to Unconditional Love and Intention
We all crave love and connection, but what if I told you there’s a way to experience an even deeper level of love that can transform your relationships and your life? That’s where the ultimate guide to unconditional love and intention comes in.
Unconditional Love
Unconditional love means loving without conditions or limitations. It means accepting and loving someone for who they are, without judgment or expectation. This type of love is not based on what someone can do for you or how they make you feel, but rather a genuine desire to love and care for them as they are.
Intention
Now, combine that with intention – being purposeful and deliberate in your actions and thoughts – and you have a powerful recipe for creating loving, fulfilling relationships and a life that aligns with your deepest desires and values.
Put the two together
When you approach your relationships with unconditional love and intention, you’re able to communicate more effectively, set healthy boundaries, and create a safe and trusting space for yourself and others. You’re also more likely to attract people into your life who share your values and support your growth.
Everybody’s offended
Have you ever had a situation when someone said something that offended you deeply, so you told them. I had this happen not too long ago. It wasn’t a super big drama, or anything, just something that I felt needed to be said. But then the person replied back to me, “Don’t be so sensitive.” Now this makes me laugh, but at the time I was really hurt.
The apology that never comes
I’m actually a very easy-going person who rarely draws a line. I let people be who they are and I love them for all of their quirks. I only feel the need to say something when their actions feel intentional. Like when we’ve already talked about it, and they keep doing it. Then I’ll say something. And when I do, I expect an apology of some sort, even if it’s simply, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” But this doesn’t ever happen with some people. They make excuses, deflect with something I might have done in the past, gaslight me, everything but own their part.
When this happens, I remind myself about unconditional love. We justify not loving someone by how they treat us. We say, “Oh, I love them, I just don’t like them.” But are our actions loving? Do we shower people with love only when they act a certain way?
Maybe God put this person in your life to make you into who He created you to be. Maybe He gave you this person to love because He knew that loving this person would bring up so many things within YOU that need to be renewed.
Love is a verb
We think of love as an emotion, when it’s an action. It’s a verb. It’s what we do, our behavior. We don’t have to wait for someone to be lovable, or to act a certain way in order to love. Choose to love them in spite of, as easily as because of, and we should. We show people we love them by intentionally doing things they like; in the way they like them. That’s love. And in that same light, we need to accept them as they are and not expect them to be different than they are.
Actions aren’t everything, but they’re a lot!
I don’t like raisins, never have. I don’t like the texture, and they taste like rotting fruit to me. My friend used to think it was the silliest thing for me to not like raisins, and because she thought it was ridiculous, she would put them in pretty much everything she cooked for me. I’d have to pick them out of cookies, muffins, even salads. It would have been such an easy thing for her to leave out of recipes, but she was downright stubborn about my dislike of raisins and intentionally put them in. Then she’d laugh and mock me for the pile of squishy raisins at the edge of my plate.
I could have chosen to take her behavior as proof that she didn’t love me (because, honestly, I’d never do that to someone I loved,) but instead, I chose not to let it mean anything about me at all. It’s her stuff, not mine. I could have been offended, and sometimes I was because it felt so intentional. Who knows if it truly was, but still, it was about her, not me.
Work on your own stuff
The lesson in all of this? Do not attempt to change others. There’s enough work to do on yourself. Let go of your expectations for how they behave toward you, and focus on yourself and your actions. Choose to love them anyway, even when they aren’t loving you the way you want to be loved. You can even love someone without their permission, imagine that!
Love is always the answer, yet we don’t make this choice very often. Instead, we let our love depend on how the other person acts toward us. Here’s the kicker, if you don’t feel love toward someone, it’s because you are not thinking loving thoughts about them. Ooh…let me say that again.
If you don’t feel love toward someone, it’s because you aren’t thinking loving thoughts about them.
The choice is entirely yours. Focus on the good, choose love, own your stuff and stop comparing yours to theirs. Set your hurt aside and choose to love them anyway. Look for the sweet, let go of the sour. This takes practice, but it’s a practice worth pursuing.
Ten Steps to Unconditional Love and Intention
But how do you cultivate unconditional love and intention in your life? It starts with awareness and practice. You can start by:
- Practicing self-love and self-acceptance. This means loving and accepting yourself for who you are, flaws and all. When you can love yourself unconditionally, you’re better equipped to love others in the same way.
- Being present and fully engaged in your relationships. This means actively listening, communicating openly and honestly, and showing up for the people in your life.
- Setting intentions for your relationships and your life. This means being clear about what you want and taking deliberate actions to create the life you desire.
- Choosing love over fear. When you approach situations and relationships from a place of love instead of fear, you’re able to let go of judgment and negativity, and open yourself up to deeper connections and experiences.
- Recognize that love is a choice: Understand that love is not just a feeling, but an intentional choice. You can choose to love someone, even when they are difficult to love or have hurt you in the past.
- Practice empathy: Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and try to understand their perspective. This can help you respond to them with more compassion and understanding.
- Let go of expectations: Avoid placing unrealistic expectations on the other person or trying to change them. Accept them for who they are and focus on your own actions and behavior.
- Choose forgiveness: Forgiveness is an intentional act of love that can help heal wounds and strengthen relationships. Choose to forgive the other person, even if they have not apologized or changed their behavior.
- Communicate openly and honestly: Intentionally communicate your feelings and needs to the other person in a loving and respectful way. This can help prevent misunderstandings and strengthen your connection with them.
- Look for the miracles; they’re all around us if we want to, and expect to see them.
This post covered a lot of intentional behavior. Some of it with forethought and choice (love), and some of it with mean spirited “fun” (raisins). It’s important to approach your life with intention. Identify your dreams and goals and intentionally pursue them. Break your days down to the tiniest detail if you need to in order to stay on track, but do it! That’s intention. Choosing love is an intention. If you set your intentions before you take action, you will be much happier with your results.
By incorporating these practices into your life, you can start to experience the transformative power of unconditional love and intention.
So, take a deep breath, trust in the power of love, and start living a life filled with intention and connection.
