I felt the void for the first 41 years of my life… the absence of love. As @marinelife says, the answer was self-love. After being molested as a child and believing I was a worthless lump of flesh for so long, I thought that I could never fill the void and would never love myself.
It took a lot of time and conscious effort to change my own mind and to find the good in the world and within myself. Once I was able to accept and forgive myself, the void started to fill. I went through a challenging relationship and was hurt, but I did not experience the desperation or depression I had with previous breakups… that was when I knew I’d be ok.
it was only after I was able to love myself, that I was fully open to being loved by another. – no insecurities, no self-sabotage. We are ourselves alongside each other; we are alone together.