We all value love. “Love makes the world go round,” goes the old song. But what is love, anyway?
I was searching for a good definition, and bumped into this from a romance novel I was reading (my guilty pleasure):
“There is no greater way to show love than by paying full attention. Inspecting the tiny details of someone else’s character like they are precious diamonds, sparkling in between our pinched fingers. Your father made me feel that way from the very first day we spent together. Like every word counted, like every glance was sacred, every moment was a gift, a celebration, an opportunity to love.’
– Colleen Coleman. I’m Still Standing
That paragraph contains much wisdom.
“Attention is the most basic form of love,” writes Tara Brach. She points out that attending to another living being, they become an intimate part of who we are. When we let ourselves be touched this way, our hearts open.
When we meet another person with tender curiosity, we discover why they see the world the way they do. Each of us contains a universe. Realizing that, we are awe struck. We realize their uniqueness and they become precious to us.
“Life is not a dress rehearsal,” Sam Altman reminds us, “time is extremely limited and goes by fast.” When you remember this, every moment and every loving movement becomes sacred.
I knew I was in love with my boyfriend (now husband of more than 40 years) when his father died. We lived 250 miles apart. I had an important exam the next day, but all I could think of was how to get to him. I wanted to be with him in his grief and fear. I took the exam and hopped on the next Greyhound bus.
Paying attention, our worlds and our hearts expand. Conscious of our limited time, every moment becomes an opportunity to love.
May you live with an open heart.
In your journal:
- How would you define love?
- Describe a moment you knew you were in love.
- Write about time.