6 a.m. Conversations

Let me say this slow this morning…

After all the growth talk, alignment talk, discipline talk, accountability talk, here’s what I’ve learned as a man who has loved, lost and learned to breathe again:

Real love feels like peace.

Not butterflies.
Not chaos.
Not drama disguised as passion.
Not intensity that keeps your nervous system on edge.

Peace.

The kind where you can sit next to your person and not perform.
The kind where silence isn’t awkward.
The kind where you don’t have to decode tone.
The kind where you’re not guessing if you’re safe.

That kind of love?
It hits different.

I used to think love had to feel loud.
Big gestures. Big emotions. Big reactions.
But loud doesn’t mean healthy.
Sometimes loud just means unstable.

Peaceful love looks different.

It looks like laughing in the kitchen over nothing.
It looks like checking in without being asked.
It looks like holding hands without making a social media announcement.
It looks like choosing your partner even when nobody’s watching.

It looks like presence.

And presence is rare these days.

We’re distracted by everything. Phones. Deadlines. Notifications. Opinions. Pressure. But happiness in a relationship doesn’t live in big moments. It lives in the ordinary ones you choose not to rush through.

You know what feels good?

Sitting across from your partner, coffee or tean in hand, sunlight coming through the window, and realizing you’re not trying to win anything. Not trying to prove anything. Not trying to fix anything.

Just there.

A man who has loved, lost and rebuilding, will tell you this without ego:

You don’t miss the chaos when it’s gone.
You understand peace and appreciate it.

Peace is attractive.
Peace is mature.
Peace is passionate in a quiet way.
Peace is knowing your partner has your back without you checking behind you.

And happiness?
It’s not fireworks.
It’s alignment.
It’s safety.
It’s inside jokes.
It’s “text me when you get there.”
It’s “drive safe.”
It’s “I’m proud of you.”
It’s “come here” after a long day.

That’s grown love.

It’s steady.
It’s intentional.
It’s not trying to impress, it’s trying to protect.

And listen, happiness isn’t something you chase in a relationship.
It’s something you cultivate.

You cultivate it when you:

Choose gratitude over criticism.

Choose calm over ego.

Choose softness over sharpness.

Choose presence over distraction.

Choose them, daily.

Love that feels good isn’t accidental.
It’s built.

And the best part?

When love is peaceful, you smile without realizing it.
You exhale without noticing.
You feel secure without needing reassurance every five minutes.

You just know.

And that head nod?
That quiet “yeah, this is it” feeling?

That’s what we’re building.

Loving by HIS Word–“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” Colossians 3:15

When peace rules your heart, love stops competing and starts resting. And that’s where happiness lives.

6 a.m. Quote—“The strongest love doesn’t shout, it settles.”

Marlon Dean — 6 a.m. Conversations “Where love meets faith, one morning at a time”