There are as many manifestations of love as there are stars in the sky. Everything we do we do out of love. We are the walking embodiment of love. Even those actions or feelings that seem on the surface to be linked to pain, anger, sorrow and so on, are nothing more than love being exhibited. Whether it be out of love for ourselves or love for others, it makes no difference. It is one and the same.
When we are grieving the loss of a loved one or the loss of a relationship, it is out of love for that person. When we are angry at someone who has done us wrong, that too is out of love for ourselves and possibly that person. When we try to tell someone else how to live, it is out of love for that person. When we fight for what we believe is right, it is out of love for others as well as ourselves. It matters not whether you are at work making money for you and your family who need food to survive, or whether you are at rest indulging in your favorite intoxicant for the love of the feeling it brings with it.
Love is all around us and yet we don’t see it unless it is overt. When we see someone taking care of a loved one who is ill or when we see two people looking endearingly at one another, it is more clearly seen as love. Even punishing a child for wrong doing is more clearly an act of love on the surface (unless you are the child).
Even the ego, which tends to view itself as separate from and often better than others, seems to be just another manifestation of love. The ego wants to be loved by others. It wants to be thought highly of and have its feelings and beliefs honored and respected. It tends to dislike or judge others who do not fit into its strict mold of what is acceptable or threaten its self image, all in the name of love. In a way, the ego is trying to bring about the desired end result of love through its actions, without realizing its efforts are actually sabotaging its attempts to achieve the end goal. Herein lies the fundamental flaw. We must first realize everything is love before we can experience it as such, and the ego can’t help us do that.
To realize all is love and love is all, there must be an effort made to recognize the truth in the statement, “Everything is a manifestation of love.” If we hear this statement and make no effort to see the truth in it, then we go along doing what we have been doing with a sense of justification. Everything I do must be okay because it is just an example of my love for myself or someone else. To do this actually hides the love from yourself and those around you. When love is hidden from view, then what good can it bring?
Make an effort to bring love out of hiding in everything you do or think. Make love known. When love feels absent, go inside to look for it (see note below). When someone says something mean to you, or rubs you the wrong way, don’t just react out of habit. Look to see if there is actually a hidden motive tied to love. If our inner core feels threatened or hurt, we tend to react defensively to protect that core. That reaction creates a domino effect of reactivity. But it can be stopped at any time by simply recognizing the underlying motive of love that is being exhibited on both sides.
We’re all here to find love. Even the Beatles said, “all we really want, all we really need is love.” Ironically, it’s always here right under our nose. It’s as if we are fish swimming in an ocean of love so we don’t recognize it for what it is. Instead we focus all of our attention on all of the other fish in the sea who are also blind to the fact that they are living breathing manifestations of the same thing. Once you see it you will realize that you have been swallowed up by it all along. And what a wonderful feeling that is.
Peace and Love,
Trey
Note: One place to start looking for love within is through a technique that can be done anytime and anywhere. I try to do it as often as I can all day long, regardless of the activity at hand. You can read about it in a previous blog post at the link below. It helps to remember you are not looking for a thing but a feeling.
http://compassion-blog.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-am-i.html
Also, below is an excerpt from a book I recently read called The Translucent Revolution:
Who is here?
Right now, sitting where you are, reading these words, take a few moments to close your eyes and feel your body. Settle yourself... relax... come fully into this moment.
Can you see the print on this page/screen? It is seen, right? But seen by whom? In this very moment, outside memory or concept or images, who is seeing? Shift your attention for just a moment from the words on the page back to yourself. Perhaps you find thoughts and feelings. Shift your attention again from the thoughts and feelings, which are also experiences that are coming and going, back to yourself. What do you find when you look for the real thing, what you have called “me”? Do you find anything? Is there something there with substance, with form and edges?
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