5 Incredible Unspoken Lessons On Unconditional Love

“Stay close to anything that makes you glad to be alive.”

-Hafiz

I set out to join my best friend for an autumn 5k. Arriving 45 minutes early by mistake, I decided to sit in the car and wait for her since she wasn’t expecting me yet.

Suddenly, she came out to find me in the driveway. She had this very puzzled look on her face. She said, “Somehow Max (her precious dog) knows you are here. He is inside whimpering and looking at the door wanting me to come get you!”

After the questions of ‘why are you here so early?’ She proceeded to tell me that Max never whimpers at the door. Instead he is usually into non-stop barking if he thinks someone is outside “his” property.

Sure enough as soon as I entered her place, he was jumping up wanting to play. He was Super excited to see me. Now, how the heck did he know I was there? Seriously. How?

After we returned from the 5k, we spent the whole afternoon working on a project at her house. Every now and then we would take turns with short breaks to play with Max.

These are 5 Incredible Lessons I Learned On Unconditional Love From Max

1. Love is about our actions – not our feelings

Max wasn’t concerned about how I made him feel. He was all about his actions. Because his actions were so loving and generous, he generated good feelings for both him and for me. And it kept going back and forth between the two of us.

2. Love isn’t a one size fits all solution

As we were taking turns with breaks, it was interesting to watch how Max demonstrated his love and affection differently for each of us. He knows each of us and caters to our individuality.

3. Love doesn’t always have to be comfortable

There were times that Max would jump on my friend as she was laying on the floor playing with him and I would hear her say, ”Oh, that was a hard jump.” Sometimes we grow from minor discomforts. Love isn’t always perfect.

4. Forgive

Because we were very busy working on the project, sometimes Max would think it was a break time when he would see one of us move from one area to the next. Once he found it was a misunderstanding, he didn’t get upset and cause a scene. He adjusted.

5. Allow yourself to bask in the joy- allow ourselves to receive

At one point, Max was on the floor on his back as I rubbed his tummy. He stayed there for some time and allowed himself to receive the reciprocation of the love he had been sharing.

When we hear the term ‘unconditional love’, it usually implies love without limits. A love that will stay exactly the way it is today, no matter what happens on either side of the relationship. I know I am receiving that from Max.

We can make this possible with humans too.

Might any of the above lessons be helpful in any of your current relationships?

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share below.