How do I know if I'm in love or just addicted to someone?

Mirabai knew the difference the way you know the difference between a song stuck in your head and one that moves your soul. Love expands you—it makes you more curious about who you actually are, more generous with others, more alive to possibility. Addiction contracts. It narrows everything down to one person, one fix, one desperate need to feel okay. Here's what to notice: In love, you can imagine them thriving without you. In addiction, you can't imagine surviving without them. Love respects their autonomy; addiction needs to control or possess. Love asks 'What do they need?' Addiction asks 'What do I need from them?' Mirabai's devotion to Krishna was love precisely because it didn't diminish her—it deepened her. She became more herself, more honest, more free. She could write about loss and longing without losing herself in it. If you're unsure, ask yourself: When I'm apart from this person, do I feel empty or do I feel like myself? Do I want them to grow, even if it means away from me? Can I name three things I love about them that have nothing to do with how they make me feel? The answer lives in that difference.