Love

Choose love - Let your love become a powerful force for change.

Love as a choice :-) I've heard since I was a wee tiny girl that we cannot choose the ones we love. What if we can?

I admit there is always more to "know" about love, happiness, truth, wisdom, pain, etc.

What do I understand love to be? Good question.. I guess I used to see love as a beautiful present, as if I was gifting a part of myself to another. The trouble with this view is that, if just like a gift - once given it no longer belongs to me. It is no longer my love.... and yet I still lay claim to it. I insist upon making sure YOU treat it as I think it should be treated. This seems like I am setting myself up for pain. And this pain is NOT LOVE! If I truly loved myself, I wouldn't allow ANYONE to make me feel inadequate, insecure, immaterial. So where, then is true love centered?

We cannot "give our love away"... because at its core, it is US. It is a piece of our essence, our spirit, our very human being.

Perhaps true love is not given, but rather shared. Loving another means allowing them access to your heart, but not control over it.

Can you, then, love without someone else to share it with? What if that other 'someone' is a pet - or maybe it is simply that we share our love with ourselves. In this manner no one can rob us of our love. We simply do not let them.

What I think I'm seeing is that if our love is based on a deep self-love then it is also a blessing to have the opportunity to love upon others - even if they do not appreciate it.

Even if they turn around and cheat on you? Even if they show no understanding of what you offer? We are taught to treat everyone as we would wish to be treated, but how do you contend to continue these actions when others refuse to follow the rules? Is it unintelligent to allow EVERYONE access to you? Can we really ever remove our feelings and the concern for our own well-being out of the equation? Or is it, perhaps, your responsibility as a loving individual to balance the system and spread as much love as possible??

Is it possible that this balance leads to the "change" encouraged above? Could it be that by loving yourself enough to see the difference between those who can benefit and those who cannot, you spend energy more efficiently? If I agree to love myself and give everyone an honest chance, then it is no longer about my ability to love or my willingness to share .. it is about whether or not this other someone can recognize, interpret and appreciate said love. I do not take the acceptance or rejection of my love personally - because it isn't about me.

I simply choose to Love. And this choice as reflected through my warm heart provides hope for others. This sounds difficult, but luckily something that is completely in my control. I can choose to love and be loved. Or I can allow others to make me feel as though my love is worthless.

Not much of a choice, at all. :-)

I love you!!!

Michelle