How do I know if I'm staying in a relationship out of love or fear?

Mirabai knew the difference because she felt it in her body. When you're loving from fear, there's a tightness—you're managing, protecting, strategizing. When you're loving from devotion, even hard things feel alive. That doesn't mean relationships are always easy or blissful. But there's a quality of *choice* in real love. You're not negotiating with yourself constantly. You're not performing to keep someone from leaving. Here's what to notice: When you think about leaving, does it feel like relief or abandonment? When you're apart, do you miss them or do you panic? Can you disagree without your whole world destabilizing? Real love can hold complexity. It holds grief and freedom at the same time. Mirabai left her marriage because devotion pulled her toward something larger than fear could hold. She wasn't running from pain—she was running *toward* truth. The question isn't whether the relationship is hard. It's whether you're staying because you're genuinely invested, or because the alternative feels unbearable. One is love. The other is a cage you've agreed to lock from the inside.