LOVE

 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 a little water and held it before me, and 
said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It 
symbolises love." 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 around 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 retreat from you. For love is meant to 
be free, you can not change its nature. If there are people you 
love, allow them to be free beings.

Give, and don't expect.

Advice, 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.