In my recent post, Elixir of Love, I presented the idea of using love to heal our emotional wounds. That post prompted a few questions about the idea of loving consciously and purposely, so I would like to explore that idea further. Read More
Another school shooting.
Another terrorist attack.
Another act of senseless violence.
Each tragedy sends a shockwave of chaos through our society, shattering lives and breaking hearts. We will respond to these events the way we always do. We will assess blame and punish responsible parties. We will intensify our military presence. We might even create new laws. We’ll do what it takes to make ourselves feel safe so we can go on with our lives, but we will also retain deep scars from the experience. Chaos has a way of bringing about immediate change, but it always seems to be the same kind of change. A change that invariably closes our once-open hearts and minds. Must we always react in this way? Is it possible to react to tragedy in a way that allows us to heal our broken hearts and at the same time avoid future pain? I believe there is a way, and that way is through love. Read More
Today is my birthday. Happy birthday to me!! Of all the days in the calendar that we chose to mark as special, no date is greater than the day we awoke to this dream called life. Without this day, all others would be irrelevant. Read More
Several years ago, I set out to teach myself how to play harmonica. I had a desire to express myself musically and I chose the harmonica because A. I love blues and B. How hard can it be to play harmonica? It’s only got 10 holes, for crying out loud! Well, I learned very quickly that the instrument was MUCH harder than I thought but I still wanted to learn so I kept at it. Read More
“We need more love in the world.” I’ve heard it said time and time again but what does it mean? Is the government hiding vast quantities of love in a warehouse somewhere in Area 51? Are wealthy people buying up all the love and storing it in offshore bank accounts? No, love is a state of mind and, as such, is subject to our will and our choice. This means I have some good news and some bad news about love. I always like to get the bad news out of the way first so, let’s have it.
The bad news about love is that there simply isn’t any more to be found. That’s right, there’s no new love out there to be found and there will never be more love in the world than there is today. The love we have now is all the love that will ever be available. “What about the condition of the world today?” you ask, “If there’s no more love to be found, we’re doomed!” Yes, it would seem so, but wait, I haven’t gotten to the good news yet.
The good news is that our current supply of love is infinite and inexhaustible. Our problem with love is not of supply but of demand. When our conditions for love are met, we demand that the gates to our heart be opened and the order is obeyed without exception. When we love someone or something, the feeling is so powerful and all-consuming that we are fooled into thinking that it’s automatic and involuntary but this isn’t so. As powerful as the experience of love is, we only feel it after a certain set of conditions is met. Over time, we identify and choose which conditions meet our love criteria, like becoming a parent or adopting a puppy. What is the love criteria? It’s different for everyone depending on our experience but rest assured, we ALL have conditions for love. Love appears to be in short supply because our criteria has become so narrow. We only love those in our family, or religious group. We only love those in our city, town or country. Some people love animals but hate other people.
If we want to bring more love into the world, all we as individuals need to do is broaden our criteria for love to include more people and more conditions. Start small by replacing indifference with love. If you’re walking down the street and you see someone walking in the opposite direction, regardless of their appearance, say to your self “I love you.” You can do this anywhere. As you’re driving. At a party. At work. It’s virtually painless and requires no physical action on your part. You’re simply acknowledging a love that’s always been there, waiting for your command.