Sometimes we think that we are able to "hold love back," and we try to do so to keep from getting hurt. We think that by not showing our love, we can save ourselves from feeling pain, suffering, or hurt when someone leaves or when something bad happens. But love cannot be held back. We are creatures of love, and the lives that we lead are largely defined by the love that is in us and the love that we share with those around us. When we live by love, we understand that other people do what they do because of who they are and not because of who we are, and therefore there is no hurting involved. And when love is the dominating force in our relationships, then there is no hurt in a person leaving, for we always want the best for others and we do not attach our own well-being to the actions of others. But because of the fact that so few of us are willing and able to have our lives defined by love, it may be difficult to conceive of this. Most of us still feel deeply hurt when others do things that we perceive as hurtful to us. I have known individuals who are like ducks when it comes to hurt-- when the hurtful things come, they simply roll off of their backs, falling harmlessly to the ground, as rain does off the back of a duck. Some things that would have devastated me have had no real harmful effect on them--they have certainly expressed their compassion for the people who would have harmed them, but they were not hurt themselves. They really did live from a place of love, not of need, control, or fear. Can we get rid of our fear and admit that we love everyone? Can we show that love appropriately, all day every day? If we can, then we will find that our lives are transformed from being one scary situation after another, with some good stuff thrown in, to being a long series of positive situations in which we learn about others and about ourselves, about how to give and about how to feel true
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 20:45:15 +0000