Maya Angelou said that her grandmother’s love freed her. Her grandmother told her she was the best person she’s ever known. Angelou wondered what if she was right? Her grandmother was right.

What I know now is that the best type of love frees people to be who they are and not who we want them to be. Sometimes letting people go is an act of love. I never wanted a divorce. I needed it. Two people may no longer be right for one another because they hold each other back from growth.

I feared growth/change because it may take me further away from loved ones. In reality, being someone who you’re not becomes a lie that causes a tear in human connection.

My hope is to practice how to love and liberate those special people in my life. As my favorite author Glennon Doyle says a gift we can give is to allow loved ones “to live held and free.”