February 2006 (Vol. XIX, No. 2)
"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard? "
WARMEST GREETINGS, dear friends! The Love-quotient of our world needs to be heightened. Remember: Love is who you are! May our lives become Love-in-action. Authentic Love is not limited, but a blessing that so enhances our beingness that we are compelled to Serve with integrity and right action. This is not an impossible dream; yet, it does take commitment, prayer and practice moment by moment in thought, word and deed. Silence and solitude are ever friends to guide you on the road to Love, to being a beneficial presence in the world.
For Love to be fully satisfied,
it must lower itself even unto nothingness,
and transform this nothingness into Fire.
I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease.
Love is spirit incarnate: powerful, courageous, and splendid. It is light in dark times, a spring in dry times, a fire in cold times, and a gathering of allies in the fearful and questioning times. It is not ignorant of consequences or uncaring of effects. And, it is passionate and disciplined, wild and domesticated, a demanding task and a delightful play … a paradox, a presence with many faces.
The little orphan and I walked down the mountain to the city to buy shoes. She slipped out of her small rubber sandals into a new pair, carefully counted 45 rupees (less than one US dollar) into the shopkeeper's hand, and walked away.
"Wait! " I called, as I reached for the discarded shoes. "You've forgotten your old sandals. "
She glanced back at me, "No, leave them," she firmly replied. "I only need one pair. Leave them for someone who has none. "
Love. Compassion.
I must practice.
An individual sitting in an emergency waiting room noticed a man in a wheel chair in considerable pain with his wife by his side. For a half hour the couple never exchanged a word; they just held hands, looking intently at each other. Once or twice the woman patted the man's face. The person watching said the feeling of love was so tangible in the room that she felt she was sharing their silent communion. Their silent love was also joyful and portrayed the fullness of a human relationship. That's what spiritual silence is all about. Love does not necessarily require words. It often requires silence.
Love is the principle of action, not a quality of behavior. We cannot learn unconditional love. To love unconditionally, we must become Love. And love is the natural outcome of union with the Inner Self or Soul.
Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the earth,
"You owe
Me. "
Look
What happens
With love like that,
It lights the
Whole
Sky.
Holidays are about families, and families can be a bit of a mess under stress. But the love that will gather is much more important than anything else on earth, and bigger than anything else on earth, too. Because finally, that love is sovereign.
When we're old, our lives become the sum of all whom we have loved. It is important not to waste anyone. One task of living out the last half of life is excavating and recovering all of those whom we loved the first half. Thus, the recovery of lost loves becomes an important way in which the past affects the present.
Love is the WILL to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth. Love is as love does … both an intention and an action.
How gently and lovingly
You wake in my heart,
where in secret You dwell alone;
and in your sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory
how tenderly You dwell in my heart
with love.
When the two shall become one
the one is still the two:
sound and silence together thrill the flute —
Each heart must have its mind or the circle is not true.
When the One has seen the Other —
a voice not his, a passion not hers —
together in God they are now, as such,
written on a single page in lines not made to touch.
Love is your immortal name, the essence of true beingness. Love is not something you do or don't do, give or don't give, receive or don't receive. In other words it is not a commodity, not a derivative substance. Love is not something that is subject to the laws of abundance or scarcity. Love is WHO you are.
Julia Butterfly Hill spent 738 days 180' high in a 200' redwood estimated to be 1,000 years old. One day, through her prayers, an overwhelming amount of love started flowing through her, filling up the dark hole that threatened to consume her. She suddenly realized that what she was feeling was the love of the Earth, the love of Creation.
"Everyday we, as a species, do so much to destroy Creation's ability to give us life. But the Creation continues to do everything in its power to give us life anyway. And that is true love."