What I have done is learn to love and learn to be loved. That didn't come easy

What I have done is learn to love and learn to be loved. That didn't come easy

Mary Oliver, the beloved poet known for her profound observations of the natural world and the human experience, often wrote about the complexities of love and the challenges of learning to both give and receive it. In her poetry, she explored the depths of human emotion and the struggles we face in opening ourselves up to love.

“What I have done is learn to love and learn to be loved. That didn't come easy,” Oliver once wrote, encapsulating the essence of her own journey towards understanding the complexities of love. For Oliver, love was not just a simple emotion, but a profound force that required patience, vulnerability, and courage to fully embrace.

In her poem “Wild Geese,” Oliver speaks to the universal longing for love and connection, urging the reader to let go of their fears and insecurities in order to open themselves up to the beauty and joy that love can bring. She writes, “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

Through her poetry, Oliver reminds us that love is not always easy, but it is always worth the effort. It requires us to be vulnerable, to let go of our defenses, and to embrace the beauty and imperfections of both ourselves and others. It is a journey of self-discovery and growth, a process of learning to accept and appreciate the love that surrounds us.