September 8

  

Today's quotation:

Love is never abstract.  It does not adhere to the universe or the planet or the nation or the institution or the profession, but to the singular sparrows of the street, the lilies of the field, “to the least of these my brethren.”  Love is not, by its own desire, heroic.  It is heroic only when compelled to be.  It exists by its willingness to be anonymous, humble, and unrewarded.

Wendell Barry

Today's Meditation:

We could spend all day every day studying what people have said and written about love, and still reach the end of our lives without having come to know what love truly is.  On the other hand, if we were to dedicate ourselves to trying to love unselfishly, without recognition or validation, we can probably learn much more about what love is and what it isn't.

Loving my country or loving my job are not the same things as truly loving our fellow creatures on this planet of ours.  If love is an action, then there must be a recipient of that action, and there must be no expectations on that recipient if the love is to be true.  Unconditional love rejects the "I'll love you if" idea of love, and it reinforces the idea of loving humbly and without any idea of return.  If love is to be true, we must give up any thoughts of being entitled to anything in return for our love.

If I can love truly, my life will be brighter and fuller, for I'll be fulfilling one of my major purposes as a human being.  My true love also will provide a beacon that other people can see and experience, and their lives, also, may be just a bit brighter because I've dedicated myself to giving of myself and my love without demanding any sort of reward.

Questions to consider:

How do we end up learning ideas like that of "loving" one's country or job?

What kinds of actions might we take to develop our ability to love?

What does it mean to love humbly, without any thought of return?  Why might it be difficult for us to do so?

For further thought:

When we come to the last moment of this lifetime, and we look back across it, the only thing that's going to matter is "What was the quality of our love?"


Richard Bach

more thoughts and ideas on love

  

   

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