Lesson #1: When You Can Truly Love Someone

My loving and wise father has taught me an infinite number of life lessons throughout the years. This man, for whom I have very high respect, has taught me everything from how to put on a shirt, how to solve for X, how to balance a chemical equation, how to change a tire and to how keeping your word reflects your character.

I am starting a category labeled "Wisdom From My Father" in order to share his invaluable knowledge. Consider this my version of "$#!+ My Dad Says."

Lesson #1: When You Can Truly Love Someone 

My great grandmother married a widower who had many, many children. She loved them all genuinely and wholeheartedly. When she passed away, her stepchildren showed how much they loved her in return by actually arguing over who would have the honor of paying all her funeral costs. 

When my father was a young man he asked my great grandmother how she was able to love so many children that were not her own. She told him that her love for those children stemmed from her love for her husband and her want for him to be happy. She then proceeded to teach my father a lesson on love that he would pass down to me:

When you are poor, when you have very little money to your name, does it make sense to loan money to other people? You simply can't do it because you have nothing to offer. Love is the same way. In order for you to truly love others, you must love yourself first. You must be wealthy when it comes to self-love. Only then, can you love generously and freely. 

My 2-cents: 

When people who don't love themselves enough say that they love someone else, it makes me think that so-called love is more of a dependence than true love. You try to give apart of yourself away in hopes of getting something in return, in hopes the other person will fill your void with their love. What happens when that other person leaves? Will you be left so alone and empty that you have nothing for yourself or for others in your life?