I recently saw the movie The Age of Adaline with one of my dear friends. In the film, the main character (portrayed by Blake Lively), is in an accident that renders her ageless. Afraid of giving away her secret, she lives alone for many years, picking up and moving every decade — in essence running away from life and from love. I won’t give away the entire movie (spoiler alert, if you plan to see it!) but eventually she meets a man, falls in love and decides to stop running. The takeaway, for me anyway, was this: love anyway.

We can come up with a million reasons to run away from love, and many of us do. Maybe we’ve been hurt in the past so we’re afraid to let someone in. Maybe we’ve been betrayed or cheated on or just let down one too many times. Maybe we’re afraid of hurting someone else. Maybe we’ve been so fragmented and twisted around we have a hard time even recognizing love when it’s right in front of our face. Love anyway.

Pain is possible.

Love anyway.

Life is complicated.

Love anyway.

Nothing is guaranteed.

Love anyway.

In a world where far too many of us are running away from love (and not just romance, but love of all shapes and sizes), we need to slow down, take a breath and make the choice to love anyway.

xoxo

Kristi

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