“We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.”
John Lennon
Poems have been written about it. Wars have been started because of it. Souls have been healed due to it. Love is so present and declined on so divers lines of our lives. It is so deeply incrusted in our intrinsic nature, that we could never imagine a world without love. There are many definitions of love. Each of us can relate to how it feels like to love and to be loved. Love comes into a complexity of dimensions, from parents love to their children to a student’s love for their teacher.
Love as a Practice
Love is not just the feeling, the emotion, though. It is also the practice, just like meditation is both the path and the destination. Sometimes during a meditation session, we have a warm glow emanating from our center. Everything around is at peace and in its right place. We are the love that we offer and the love that we receive.
Being able to experience this kind of love that grows from within and slowly enveils the body and the outer environment, makes it possible to set-up a landmark in our mind. Having this landmark comes with many benefits. One is connecting to their inner love thoroughout the day. It feels like fueling the body and the mind with that sensation of love as a way to be more joyous and happy in our lives. Connecting to that source of love makes it possible to be more open and understanding towards everyone around. Plus, it is the basis for nurturing self-love and compassion.
Need vs. Want
We may sometimes be submerged by the need to be loved and ask expressively for it: “I want love.” When love does not flow naturally in our lives, it might mean that we are at a turning point. In this moment of our lives, it is necessary to ask ourselves what kind of love we want to invite into our life.
Meditation pours light on the dark, unacknowledged corners of our being, so that we gain clarity over what it is that we truly need. Love is like a coin: it has two faces, the face of giving and the face of receiving. One cannot go without the other. So, in the moment when we assess a need for love, the simplest thing that we can do is to genuinely love. And keep on loving with a clear mind and an open and truthful heart. Spreading love around us means preparing the terrain for receiving love wholeheartedly.
In the quest for love, creating a sense of abundance and selflessness are key. Love is limitless and always here. It’s just up to us to transform our perspective: to cherish the love for, from and inside others and share our love without expecting anything in return.