The last few months have been a difficult time for my family – during which, we lost a close family member who I loved deeply. The shocking news from her sudden diagnosis of a lethal cancer and subsequently losing her within weeks of diagnosis have left us distraught. Yet, this whole experience has been a humbling source to reflect upon some of life’s important lessons. As we reconcile to this irreparable loss, we have been reflecting on the entire crisis and searching for the lessons it offered us. While there are many lessons to be learnt, I would like to share what I felt to be the most important one: the power of love. The Power of Love As this serious illness engulfed our lives, numerous issues flooded our minds. What disturbed us the most were the questions related to the meaning of life and the predicament around what finally remains of a person and their life’s actions. After much contemplation, we finally grasped that love is the answer. Love sustains life and is what remains after life. Despite the challenges of the situation, somehow we were all quite calm, positive and strong. Besides our meditation practice, I believe, it was really the power of love that not only gave us this special strength during this troubled time, but also made those few weeks so precious. The anchor of love and compassion is now providing the support needed for the grieving family. I was steadily experiencing the shift from carrying the intellectual understanding about love in my head to experiencing it more fully in my heart over the past few years. I have come to believe that love indeed has the strength to dissolve all our emotional wounds and differences. Perhaps, it is the only thing that lasts beyond space and time. Emily Dickinson, the 19th century American poet, wrote, “Love is anterior to Life, posterior to death; initial of creation, and the exponent of Earth”. Love brings us together, leads to our birth, nurtures us, provides us the force for growth, sustains our existence and is the legacy that eventually remains. Motivated by Love Despite this essence of love, we ignore paying attention to love in our daily lives. It amazes me how limiting our thoughts and actions are sometimes. We fail to recognize that it doesn’t matter what we do, but it is the motivation behind it that makes the difference. Even a small task can spread happiness and joy around us when carried out with love and kindness. Love contributes to furthering the cause of the universe and thereby gives our action greater meaning. Life demands that we make compassion the guiding force behind all our actions and interactions. Accordingly, at work, these considerations can determine how we treat our colleagues and customers, and in our society, the consideration we have for the underprivileged. Love is undoubtedly the most significant nurturing force in relationships. Yet, while we intellectually know this, are we mindful of it in our closest relationships? Repeatedly, we get caught up with our conditioned responses of ego, fear, insecurity, attachment and anxiety, and we become removed from our innate ability to love. These emotions make us feel separate and isolated, eventually burying the love that exists inside us. Thus, a parent’s deep-rooted love for their child, when heavily clouded by their own fears, insecurities and moments of unconsciousness, gets expressed as anger. Love Connects Us Consciously staying attentive to spreading love and becoming open to receiving it, we feel totally interconnected and whole. All of us yearn to be loved—it is one of our deepest motivations; receiving unconditional love makes us feel complete
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 11:30:04 +0000
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