I was caring for a young girl at her home, and she had a set of “emotion flashcards.” The cards had the names of emotions written on them, together with a picture of a child making a face that mimicked that emotion. Happy, Sad, Angry, Worried, etc.
There were several “love” cards. All of the pictures on the love cards were of Mom and Daughter, Mom/Dad/Child, a Grandmother holding her Grandchild, Siblings or Friends hugging each other.
We come into this world with an underlying belief that Love is found in objects, in people. On one level, that is certainly true, but the question we might ask ourselves is “Does that belief limit Love?”
Perhaps in that limited belief that we were inculcated with is why we find ourselves distant and separate from our brothers and sisters in this world. What if the truest form of Love is really a moment to moment relationship with Life?
Some teachings out there in the world say “love everyone!”, but if we are honest with ourselves, are you really able to love someone who took something away from you that you so valued? Are you able to love someone who said something so incredibly hurtful to you? No, we aren’t. We certainly can pretend to, but pretense has nothing to do with real Love.
Love is what shows us, in those trying moments of having something taken away from us or something said to us that was hurtful, the hidden parts of our human nature that we can see in no other way. In other words, Life uses each of us as trigger mechanisms. We are, in truth, unknown gifts to one another.
When our spouse or child makes what feels like a very hurtful statement, if we are observing what our minds are telling us in those very moments, we are able to see the part of ourselves that know nothing of Love because it wants to demolish others for saying what they said or for doing what they did. How is that any different than the hurtful statement that was made? It isn’t, and that is what Love is trying to show us. We are all the same. We all live from the very same consciousness that just manifests itself in different ways.
It’s not that we are to “love” a person who said or did something hurtful. But we can learn to love Love for showing us how erred we’ve been in believing we are so different or better than anyone else. That is having a relationship with (Big L) Love. We then learn to leave people alone.
Real Love isn’t conditional. Real Love doesn’t change because a person did something that we don’t like or resent. Real Love is unconditional, meaning it is a living relationship moment to moment of “loving what is”, because Love is the vehicle through which I can see what is unloving in me.
The only way to become a human being who has humility in this world, is to be in relationship with that true level of Love, because we see that no matter how “ugly” these unseen parts of ourselves seem to be, Love doesn’t judge that. Love allows us to see that, and that’s all that it requires. When we agree to see those parts of ourselves, the seeing can’t help but humble and change us.
The emotions that most of us express in unwanted moments of our lives, are because we haven’t looked inward first (when the emotions first arise) to see those hidden unloving parts that just want to express themselves and blame others for being brought to the surface.
These expressed emotions are as old as time. They are wrongly used when they are identified with and expressed as an outward projection that someone else caused them.
What a gift we can give our children to get a jump early in their lives with the understanding that their work as a human being is to see what Love wants them to see in the moment, which is to see what is unloving in them.
What’s unloving in one is unloving in all, so is there any reason to feel bad about ourselves if we all share in that one unloving nature? Have we been punishing ourselves, hiding from ourselves, needlessly?
Yes.
When we believe others are the cause of these disruptive emotions that arise in us, at the same time, we believe that those very same characteristics we say the other is guilty of don’t exist in us, but they do. And as difficult as that may be to accept, we must accept that fact if we are ever to be free from those beliefs that currently punish us and everyone around us.
Real Love doesn’t punish. It sets us free, but we have to agree to stand in the revelation that Love offers us moment to moment in order to truly know that for ourselves.
Image Courtesy of: Bruno/Germany on Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-romance-affection-3096380/
Dear Terri!
Talk about love! I LOVE all that you have been given to express here! Tha Author above all authors in you definitely gives birth to its precious liberating LIGHT and understanding that is so needed in this world.
“The only way to become a human being who has humility in this world, is to be in relationship with that true level of Love, because we see that no matter how “ugly” these unseen parts of ourselves seem to be, Love doesn’t judge that. Love allows us to see that, and that’s all that it requires. When we agree to see those parts of ourselves, the seeing can’t help but humble and change us.”
Yes! So much to SEE!
Claudia Hamilton 🙂