Hi Folks,
Are you in love?
I don’t mean romantically, good as that is. I mean it in the deep inner sense — the foundation of our lives. Do you — do I — live from a place of distraction and despair? I don’t want to live that way.
Love is the answer for me. It is the antidote to everything that seems to make me (and you?) anxious and depressed.
For example, it seems to me that we judge ourselves and other people too harshly. It is difficult to remember that everyone is trying to do their best. I want to share a few quotes that mean a lot to me and hopefully you will find some solace in them too.
The Buddha taught: “Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.”
What would it be like to judge no one? What would it be like to forgive everything and everyone? Just to let all of the pain and resentment and guilt go? And aren’t those qualities the qualities of love?
In the Bible (1 John 4:7-8) it is written: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
These verses have helped me to remember that all wise people have taught us that to learn to love is one of the main points of having this human experience. I don’t even know if this is true, but I feel like when I exist in a state of love, the problems drop away and solutions appear.
It just does not happen as quickly as we wish. I know that being impatient is one of my main hurdles in life. Then I try to remember this quote. Lao Tzu writes in the Tao Te Ching: “Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear?”
For me, letting the water clear is essential. If all I see is mud, then mud is what I will be serving up to other people. This mud is impatience, a lack of forgiveness and judging.
The answer is love. In fact, the answer is always love, in one way or another. I wonder how much personal and collective misery could be avoided if we had love as the foundation of our lives? A simple question to ask: Are my thoughts, words, and actions aligned with love?
Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Persia, stresses three things: “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.” This is a beautiful and easy way to check the love in our lives.
Are you in love?
To Love!
Apophat