The human heart longs to love and be loved, yet it is a tragic truth that most people in our modern world are incapable of truly loving anyone or anything.
What am I talking about? Freedom.
In an age where everyone is constantly talking about freedom—freedom to do whatever we want, freedom to say whatever we want to say, freedom to be whoever we want to be—the sad reality is we have misunderstood what freedom even is, and have fallen instead into one of the worst slaveries there is: slavery to ourselves.
But what does this have to do with love?
In order to love, you must be free, for to love is to give yourself to someone or something freely, completely, unconditionally, and without reservation.
Yet to give yourself, to anyone or anything, you must first possess yourself. This possession of self is freedom. It is a prerequisite for love, and is attained only through discipline.
This is why so very few relationships thrive in our time. The very nature of love requires self-possession. Without self-mastery, self-control, self-dominion, we are incapable of love.
Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want.
If you wish to truly love another, seek the true freedom that comes from discipline. Learn to deny yourself and delay gratification. Build character and seek to do what is good, true, noble, and just in every moment of your day.
Matthew Kelly
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