Unconditional love

I love very strongly. I don't expect much in return, but I do expect respect. That is not as simple as it seems. I know a man who spoke to me of unconditional love. For me it is about accepting another person as they are. Of sharing love, confidences and truths or beliefs, also sad or hard times. To my friend unconditional love means freedom to do, think and act as one pleases and as long as one does not aim to hurt, there is no responsibility for anyone but the self. If someone else gets hurt along the way - tough shit, their problem.
I love very much. Each person, just like myself, carries something screwy in their character. I can see it and I respect it. It might not be pleasing to me, but it is part of the person whom I love. It would be so easy if you could love only the "right" person. I always try to understand no matter how hard it seems sometimes; I have been screamed at, abused and hurt, still I stay - not because I am a fool or a looser, but because I am a winner, the one who has the guts to transgress. Only a fool will not accept love.
Yes, it is hurtful to be on the receiving end, but it may also be a lesson in character. If you speak anything that does not fit the picture, you are cast out and if you love deeply this might be very painful. But then again, if you are not allowed to voice your worries or fears....are you then really loved? If you are gagged by fear of loss, do you feel loved? The one who says you matter should be able to hold you in their arms for a while until whatever unrest has passed. Parent to child, lover to lover, friend to friend. And if this is not so, at the end of the day, it might be better to face the pain than allow yourself being controlled by another being. Allow the healing tears to fall and know that you are worth more...and that at one point this will come.