The capacity to continue loving does not automatically indicate weakness. What decides whether it is a strength or a weakness is what you do with that love.
Love without boundaries can become self-destruction.
Love with boundaries can become compassion.
You can look at someone and say….
"I love you. I see your suffering. I see the humanity in you. I genuinely wish things had been different."
And at the same time:
"You are not safe for me. You do not get access to me. I will not sacrifice myself for the possibility that one day you might become someone else."
Those statements do not clash each other ….
In the past, love may have overridden your self-protection. The feeling became evidence that you should remain connected, keep hoping, keep trying, keep understanding.
The presence or absence of love is no longer the deciding factor.
Safety is.
Reality is.
Self-respect is.
You can love someone and still conclude they are not safe to have access to your life.
