We throw around the word “unconditional” like it is easy. Like loving someone without conditions is a simple choice you make and then it is done. But anyone who has actually tried it knows the truth: unconditional love is the hardest thing a human being can do.
“Unconditionally” is Tom Bruggemann’s attempt to capture what that really looks like.
“Unconditional love does not mean you accept everything,” Tom explains. “It means you love someone even when they make it hard. Even when they disappoint you. Even when they hurt you. Not because you are a pushover. Because you made a choice.”
The song is not naive. It does not pretend that loving without conditions means loving without pain. In fact, it acknowledges that the two are inseparable. The deeper you love, the more it can hurt. And the decision to keep loving anyway is not weakness. It is the most courageous thing a person can do.
Have you ever loved someone through their worst moments? Not their charming, easy-to-love moments, but the ugly ones? The ones that made you question everything?
If you have, you know what unconditional love actually costs. Tom does too. And he put it in a song.