Love
It's been a very emotional couple of weeks for my spiritual community.
Between two of the groups I work with, we've lost three members of the community.
In addition to that, other things have been in transition, and that is never easy.
How timely that the topic of my women's group meeting last week would be love.
I wanted to write about our really good discussion much sooner than this, but I've honestly lacked the energy for it.
Some of our discussion has been inspired by reading Robin Wood's book "When Why If" as a group.
We talked a lot about the idea of 'loving' as a verb. As something that you do. As putting yourself in another's shoes and thinking about their experience of a situation. Anyone who has sustained a loving relationship for a long time will tell you that keeping love alive takes work and dedication. It is a choice; an action.
Love, the book postulates, is wishing that the person you love find happiness.
This kind of love, practiced as universally as possible, would bring so much light to the world.
We talked about actively working to love even those we don't like. To be that kind of a priestess.
I admitted, with much chagrin, that there is a person in my life who I really struggle with on a daily basis. I struggle every day to try and not think the worst of this individual and of their intentions. I remind myself every day that everyone is doing their best to live a good life as best they know how ... including this individual. That their choices are not, as they appear to me, probably designed to harm others that I care for.
But it's a struggle; and it was hard for me as a priestess to admit that I face this every day.
I was rewarded by everyone else around the table saying "yeah ... I have someone like that too."
It reminded me that we're all very very human.
I remembered something that I heard Marianne Williamson speak about once. She advised her listeners to live with love, and suggested that we go about it by looking for "the divine spark" or "the innocent child of god" in everyone we encounter. She said to us "believe me, if you are looking for that in the person you're talking to, some of you are going to have a very different way of talking to that checker at the grocery store!" And she has a point.
Another speaker I once heard talked about the Buddah. She was comparing him to us. Talking about how we all hold within us those same qualities of loving, understanding, patience and compassion. They are human qualities.
No, she went on, what was special about the Buddah was not what he had within him ... it was what he didn't. And if you wonder what I'm talking about, let's see what comes out of you the next time you're stuck in traffic!
*smile* thoughts worth pondering.
Part of what has me thinking about this, though, was what I witnessed this weekend.
Saturday, we bid farewell to our friend Rich. There were dozens of pepole there who I've never seen before. We wrote messages to Rich, talked with each other, shared food and stories and realized how we all shared a connection through this one individual we all knew and cared for and would miss. Even more, we shared a connection in our desire to support, care for, love Terri.
And again on Sunday, we bid farewell to our dear friend's son. Some of us had met him, some had not. But we were there to Love SB. To share in her pain and perhaps, in so doing, lessen it somehow. Even just a little. But I found more there; such an outpouring of love. so many young people there trying to make sense of the loss of their friend; a strong young athlete and college student. I was reminded very strongly of how many lives we each touch. It is tragic that this fact is rarely brought to light so visibly as it is when a person is gone. When those who love gather to celebrate the light that was loved and was lost. Yet that light shines on. You can see it in the faces of all those who let that love live on within them.