“Be in love with life and help others be in love with life.”
— Anon
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I can’t think of a better mission in life than this one above… can you?
And why not? How else would you want to approach anything? Can love ever detract from creation, or from making a difference? I think not. I think never.
Make it about love always, I say — I’ve been practicing this for over 25 years, and making now about being in love has never failed me. So, hear me out.
It doesn’t have to be total; after all, “progress not perfection” holds true. But to have love as an aim, a goal, a guiding aspiration — to make each moment a little more loving, and therefore full and rich, than the one before? Try it. Watch your life take on a hugely deeper significance as you do.
It doesn’t take much. Just waking up and truly opening your eyes to what’s around you — instead of sleepwalking through life — is the core of love.
I was listening to my Ishayas’ Ascension meditation teacher over the weekend, and he commented on how bright and crisp we all seemed to him, even through the screen.
Maybe it was the clarity that comes from viewing life through the present moment? Or maybe it was because he’d had a cataract operation the week before and had gone from 10% to 90% eyesight clarity.
Isn’t that wild?
And it reminded me how much I take for granted. The ability to see clearly, for instance. When you’ve spent any time unable to use one of your senses, regaining it is a wonder. I still remember having a middle ear infection that disrupted my balance. Even rolling over in bed felt like an ordeal, let alone making it to the bathroom.
How thrilled was I when the infection subsided and I could walk a few steps without retching in dizziness? Beyond thrilled: stoked!
Falling in love begins right here. It’s about showing up, participating in the moment with freshness and aliveness, free from expectation or prejudice.
Love has to be about now, not when. It’s about what is, not what should be. After all, the head can’t love. The past and the future can't love.
Love begins with acceptance. What else is love but the total acceptance of what is, of who a person is? This kind of acceptance — not wanting anything to be different — leads to complete approval and, very quickly, love for what you experience.
And here’s the magic: this kind of love can’t be taken away from you because it’s your choice.
It’s your choice to direct your attention to what you approve of. And perhaps the world has its share of danger and disappointment. But it has so much more of the Good, the Right, and the Beautiful — no matter what unfolds or what others may do.
You just have to choose to see it.
That might mean a journey from the head to the heart, and as it’s been said, that can be the longest journey anyone undertakes. But it doesn’t have to be. Not when you know how precious your ability to consistently choose for love is.
“Rubbish!” you might call (or something similar).
Surely there are things in the world that are wrong, dangerous — things you need to watch out for?
And I’d say, be careful what you focus on. Many well-intentioned folk have focused so much on what’s broken or missing — hoping to fix it or avoid it — only to find that their life becomes consumed by the very thing they sought to escape.
Nietzsche, the German philosopher, understood this better than most. He has a beautiful quote about being very careful when you're fighting monsters not to become one in the process. What else is our fear of what could go wrong but an inner dragon that through the power of our attention becomes an outward reality?
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“I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the whole: some day I wish to be only a Yes-sayer.”
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Take heart in that. Focus on what you want to grow in your life. Then, when you can, help others lighten their load. Make their moments a little brighter, a little easier.
Give it a try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain — and do let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear.
Go well,
Arjuna