from The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski (by way of Norman Fischer and Everday Zen)

If love is bountiful and endless, why then do we get caught up in scarcity, feeling that we must hold on to our beloved so tightly? In part, it is because we confuse love and attachment.

Attachment likes to impersonate love. It says, “I will love you if you give me what I need.

Love is focused on generosity: attachment is obsessed with getting needs met.

Love is an expression of our most essential nature: attachment is an expression of the  personality.

Love engenders faithfulness, aligning with our values, moving with purpose.
Attachment clings in fear and grasps tightly to a particular end result.

Love is selfless and encourages freedom: attachment is self-centered and engenders possessiveness.

Attachment leaves scars. Love inclines us to gratefulness.