Jojo on loving and being loved

“I used to wander all up and down,

all up and down,
waiting for love from someone.

I was waiting for affection but I was looking in the wrong direction.
What I needed was not so much to be loved as to love.”

–Jonathan Richman, “Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love”

“I want people to love me like I can love.
I want to open up my lunchbox, find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in there,
just like when I was six years old and someone loved me.
Love me like I love.

When I was six years old, I never dreamed I would grow up to feel lonely.

When I was six years old, I didn’t dream that I’d grow up to feel all isolated. No.”

Jonathan Richman, “Love Me Like I Love

Love without expectations. Love with expectations. I sometimes feel torn between these two ideas. Are they two different ideas?