Why can we overlook or, in some instances, be 100% blind to love even when it shows up right in front of our eyes?  

We often will say that we're looking for and desire love, yet when potential options present themselves, we quickly pass them by, tear them apart with judgement or overlook them completely.

Um, what's going on here? 

I recently read something that spoke a bit to these questions. The words below resonated with me to the point where I wanted to share them with you. The topic of love and relationships is so vast. It is beyond me to attempt to explain IT nor sum it up in a short blog post. Although, piece by piece, day by day, experience by experience and relationship by relationship the pieces, often, have a natural way of coming together like a spider web if you stay aware and present.

It's a given that whatever you're in a struggle with internally will be reflected to the people and experiences around you, especially within your search for love. If you harbor a lot of self judgment, you will naturally be more judgmental of others. If it's difficult for you to find self acceptance, it will be a struggle for you to accept others and so on. 

Often we're looking outwardly for love. However, beginning your search with self reflection can help lead the way.

Here is a quote for you to think about as you pursue the path to love in your own life:

"If you are operating under the assumption that who you are before the surgery, underneath the hair dye, and without the makeup is unacceptable, then you may find yourself driven to find a mate with all of the "perfect" criteria (the "right job," "right look," from the "right family") as a way to compensate for what you consider to be your own inadequacies. You may find someone who has all of those external qualities and think, for a while anyway, that you have found love. But, sooner or later, these relationships tend to reveal themselves to be somewhat empty and soulless. The kind of love that we are looking for rarely comes from this way of seeking. There is no heart in it and soul connections are always revealed in the heart. That's why love doesn't always look the way you might think it should. Just like you, yourself, may not look the way you think you should." 

-Katherine Woodward Thomas

I'm going to leave you to sit with that. It was powerful for me, as I hope it will be for you. 

Often, the most treasured gifts in our lives, are not presented to us in the way we believe they should and ought to be. This so is true for relationships.  

*Above image is of Sarah Larson creator of Often Wander by photographer Amy Lynn Bjornson.