For the longest time, I was duped by the romantic fantasies fed to us through movies, TV shows, and music. They fill us up with endorphins and make love feel like a chase — something to be won through relentless pursuit or earned through self-sacrifice. Too stressful.

If we dare to keep our hearts open — knowing full well we might get hurt — and just breathe, just observe — something shifts. We begin to see that everyone is yearning to be seen. Everyone is longing to live with their hearts open too — but something seems to be in the way. What is that?

It’s the mask we all tend to wear. It shows up as ego, victimhood, fierce independence, living through social expectations, physical beauty, or even just being nice. Every day, we put on the best mask we can, hoping it’ll attract the love and desire we crave — while quietly wondering if we’ll ever be seen without it.

The irony is that the mask is exactly what keeps us from being seen. While it offers the illusion of safety and social acceptance, it’s also what keeps us locked away in quiet corners — wondering if we’ll ever be loved for who we really are. In hiding our faces to be loved, we cry underneath because we’re invisible.

That’s love — recognizing everyone carries the burden of this paradox. Love is a verb. It’s the act of seeing through everyone’s masks and piercing into their hearts to witness the pains, regrets, hopes, dreams, fears, and insecurities they’re carrying. To see all the love, happiness, joy, excitement, and greatness they themselves have been holding back — in fear of getting hurt or being left unloved. It’s seeing that they too — are just human — like you.

Therefore, to love is a true act of courage. We can’t force someone to drop their mask — we can only drop our own and hope that gives them permission to do the same. Even if they don’t, we’ve freed ourselves to experience life as truly ourselves: mortal, weak, and exposed. And that alone is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. But if they drop their mask too…

Then we’ve arrived. Love becomes the default. There’s nothing more. Just two human beings, in the quiet presence of each other — completely comfortable and free to live without boundaries. No acting. No performance. Just two people, simply witnessing each other’s lives together as one.

Easier said than done — but I hope everyone finds at least one person in their life with whom they can be completely human. And I hope everyone gets the opportunity to show at least one person that they were truly seen — that their existence, no matter how big or small, was beautiful, pure, and irreplaceable. It’s everyone’s god-given right during this short time on this planet.

Happy Mother’s Day