"Abiding in love."
Thoughts on the nature of being.
We long to love from the fullness of our undefended hearts and we long to be loved unconditionally and without reservation. — Jett Psaris and Marlena S. Lyons, Undefended LoveÂ
21 FEBRUARY—Love is not a thing bestowed one person to another, it has taken me too many years to understand. It isn’t denied to the unworthy or gifted to the deserving. Nor is it a condition we fall into and out of, although it might feel that way.
I have wanted all my life to love and be loved in the way Psaris and Lyons describe. And I have wondered at and agonized over the many personal shortcomings and defects that seem to have prevented it. What is wrong with me?
Nothing. Besides being human.
Walking along a country road one afternoon I suddenly understood an absurdly simple truth: I am the love I have always wanted. Nothing is missing. Don’t we all know this? Gurus and Hallmark cards tell us as much. But what does it mean to realize and live it?
It’s uncomplicated: I experience it when watching a bird. And impossible: when love seems so easily to turn to indifference or hate.
Oh to be who we are. Abiding in love. So simple. So hard.
Note: The above quote was taken from one of Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations which arrive by email From the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can find out more about CAC here. If you would like to receive their daily meditations you can sign up here.
When I read this the first thing that popped into my head was a quotation from the New Testament. The tail end of it is: Love thy neighbor as thyself for the love of God. It implicitly tells you that you have to love yourself. Personally, I've never been really good at that. I was finally able to make peace with myself. It was at that point that I met Kate and that was, at this point 27 years ago. it does work.