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Today's
Meditation:
I always have a very hard time with this concept:
even if I think I'm doing something with love as my major
motivation, am I really? It's very easy to do things
because we want them to turn out as we think they should,
or because we'll benefit in some way from what's
done. Even in giving, it's easy to fall into the
trap of giving because it makes us feel good rather than
giving because we truly want to show love to the
recipients.
So what criteria can we use to know that we're actually
doing or giving something out of love? How can we
examine our motives to figure out just why we're doing
what we're doing? And what motives are those
inspired by love?
I think that in the end, it's a question of our thoughts
being solely on the needs of the recipient. It's
important that we keep in mind the fact that the
recipients of our actions have definite needs, and if it's
within our power to meet those needs to a certain degree--
without thinking a bit of the effect of our
actions on ourselves-- then we may just be putting love
into what we do. And if we can shift our mindset to
always be focused on the needs of others, then it becomes
a simple fact that all that we do and give is a result of
love.
We all know people who claim to do things for others, but
who are motivated more by self-interest than by the desire
to help or by love. And if we think that we don't
want to be like them, then it's important that we remain
clear about our own motives and actions, so that we can
continue to act and give out of love, which is the purest
form of motivation of all.
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