"About Love" - by Swami Vivekananda

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were
sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand
with some water and held it before me, and said this:
"You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and
allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you
attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill
through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they
try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water
spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are
people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect.
Advise, but don't order.
Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to
truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must
sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.