What is Love...Really? (LLJL)

What is Love, Really?
 

The other day, in my morning reading I came across something that really blew me away, it was this little gem by Robert H. Ingersoll, 

“Love is the only bow on life's dark cloud.
It is the Morning and the Evening Star.
It shines upon the cradle of the babe,
and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb.
It is the mother of Art,
inspirer of poet, patriot, and philosopher.
It is the air and light of every heart, builder of every home,
kindler of every fire on every hearth.

It was the first to dream of immortality.
It fills the world with melody,
for Music is the voice of Love.
Love is the magician, the enchanter,
that changes worthless things to joy,
and makes right royal kings and queens of common clay.

It is the perfume of the wondrous flower -- the heart
and without that sacred passion, that divine swoon,
we are less than beasts;
but with it, earth is heaven
and we are gods.”

 "What is Love?"  We use it so often, we talk about it in reference to food, books, movies, shoes, clothes, our pets, and yes, sometimes, even people. 

And sometimes, I think, we use it so much, we forget what the true essence of this word is...and we forget to really become the experience of Love.

I wonder, does anyone remember the little comic in the daily paper, (and I am really dating myself here folks) called, Love Is...

I remember I used to clip them out quite often and put them in the picture windows in my wallet...it was sort of a "trendy" ritual that my friends and I used to practice.

Well, the other day, I came across this article, that reminded of those cute, funny and oftentimes very profound little bits of wisdom.  The article was about a group of professional people who posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen," Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6

"There are two kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them." Jenny - age 8

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore," Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine -age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica - age 8

And at the end of this article was this final story...
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

There is so much to learn about Love...through the eyes and the heart of a child.

The one who is known as, the "Maharaji" when asked what love was, replied...
“If you want to be in love, begin by loving each breath.
Begin by falling in love with understanding, with clarity, with the truest sincerity.
These are the angels in your life.
When all is dark, they come—all lit, graceful, beautiful with clarity.

One second of clarity and all the darkness vaporizes.
Don't try to remove the darkness—it won't work.
All you have to do is usher in the light.
Fall in love with living.
Fall in love with that which is within you.”

You see, we are always looking for that elusive thing or person that will bring that feeling of love to us...we view it as this elusive something, outside of ourselves...something we have catch like the "Love Bug" or plead for, or suffer for, or make amends to, or even steal.

Sometimes, we feel we have to earn love...that we have to become worthy, or perfect, "whatever that means" in order to experience love.

But I have come to understand, that it is always right we are...in every place we go...in every person we meet...in every experience...in every situation...no matter what the appearance may be...it is all Love.  You see, Love has no conditions, it doesn't matter what our state of mind is, what we are going through, if we are short, tall, fat, thin...Love doesn't care.  All we have to do is breathe, open our hearts...and Be.
Children get this, they know that Love has no expectations...that it is everywhere present...and is a part of everyone and everything... 

We were all born as the result of a simple act of love...the act of creation...which is everywhere present can only come into form through the power of Love...and we are all endowed with this sacred gift...this power.. as participatory creators in a participatory Universe, fueled by the energy of love.

What will you create today?

Will you create Chaos...or Peace?
Confusion...or Clarity?
Pain...or Healing?
Resentment...or Forgiveness?
Sorrow...or Joy?
Tears...or Laughter?
Separation...or Love?

Marianne Williamson, writes, in "A Return to Love", that "when we were born, we were programmed perfectly.  We had a natural tendency to focus on love.  Our imaginations were creative and flourishing, and we knew how to use them.  We were connected to a world much richer than the one we connect to now, a world full of enchantment and a sense of the miraculous."

So what happened? Why is it that we reached a certain age, looked around, and the enchantment was gone?  Because we were taught to focus elsewhere.  We were taught to think "unnaturally" We were taught an "error" philosophy, a way of looking at the world that directly contradicts with who we really are.
We were taught to think thoughts like competition, struggle, sickness, finite resources, limitation, guilt, bad, death, scarcity, and loss.  We began to think these things, and so we began to know them.  We were taught that things like grades, being good enough, money and doing things within the system, or the right way, are more important than love. 

We were taught that we're separate from other people, that we have to compete to get ahead, that we're not quite good enough the way we are...that we aren't enough.
Love is what we were born with.  Fear, separation and doubt is what we learned here.  The spiritual journey is the relinquishment, or unlearning, of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.  Love is the essential existential fact.

It is our ultimate reality and our purpose on earth.  To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life.

Meaning doesn't lie in things.  Meaning lies in us. 

Love is within us.  It cannot be destroyed, but can only be hidden.

We came here to co-create with God by extending love. And this can only happen when we release the grip of fear.

 Marianne writes, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

This my friends, is the true essence of Love.

As Zora Neale Hurston writes,
"Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place."