What is love anyway?

I awoke today with the Howard Jones song “What is love” running through my head.

“I love you whether or not you love me.

I love you even if you think that I don't.

Sometimes I find you doubt my love for you, but I don't mind -

Why should I mind, why should I mind?

What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway?

What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway?

Can anybody love anyone so much that they will never fear,

Never worry, never be sad?

The answer is they cannot love this much - nobody can.

This is why I don't mind you doubting …

And maybe love is letting people be just what they want to be.

The door always must be left unlocked

To love, when circumstance may lead someone away from you

And not to spend the time just doubting.”

The concept of love is a topic that many have pondered over the centuries.

My own conclusion is that the word ‘love’ is used by many to describe the very best feeling they’ve ever experienced … thus far.  There’s no way to know if that’s real love, or indeed what real love is.  Personally, I feel that the word ‘love’ is greatly overused.  Perhaps ‘love’ can be attributed to the feeling of bliss that is our natural birthright, but that many never truly experience.  If you’ve had a glimpse of, or come to know this kind of bliss, you’ll know what I mean.

There are many who, through no fault of their own, suffer low self-esteem that is rooted in their childhood and who generate an elevated sense of self to move them away from their feeling of low self esteem.  During this kind of self-generated euphoria, attachments can be made to a person or thing and termed ‘love’ within their frame of reference, especially if that thing/person seems to have a purpose in their life.  Of course, relationships founded in such a situation can be extremely hard to release because they’ve come to be relied upon.

Love can be many things to many people, but perhaps it is only ever a measure of one’s own awareness or perception, and how far that has extended.  Is it any wonder that we as a species become so attached to the concept of love when it holds the promise of anything we want it to be, yet is such a tall order to fulfill?

AGD 8/11/14

Flinging out the old, winging in the new ...

At last, we have left behind 2013 - a year which was challenging for most, to say the least. The collective sigh of relief has faded and we carefully tend our flames of hope and desire, now tempered by the caution of experience.  A quiet sense of strength has become evident in some, whilst others feel like buckling under the omnipresent feeling of struggle that seems to prevail these days.  No, this is not a depressing dialogue, merely one that encourages you to stand still for a moment and take stock of where we are as individuals - what we need to pay attention to in order to create momentum, and what loose ends we need to tend to release us from that which holds us back.

Life is made up of events that carry each of us in the direction of fulfilling our highest potential; the journey is defined by our choices, and therefore we choose the lessons that move us towards that potential.  None of the events en route are accidents - we are all players in joint experiences in a common refining process that will ultimately lead to mutation.

On a physical level, these changes - or shall we say adaptations - may manifest as new aches and pains that we haven't previously experienced - seemingly coming 'out of the blue', as deep emotional issues that were locked into the body begin to loosen their hold.  Pains appear out of nowhere as the body shouts its' need for freedom from limiting beliefs and constricting emotions.  For those who have become receptive to its prompting, the 'voice within' can be apt to shock by it's strength - it is certainly not going to be ignored any longer.  

So, be prepared to ponder what might be happening as your body expresses its needs; be prepared to experiment with different practices or healing modalities in order to attend to these needs, but above all, be prepared to listen.  Your body speaks very literally - it can achieve nothing by being cryptic - so a simple willingness to observe, listen and learn is all that is required.  Become one with your body, rather than allowing the controlling mind to govern all action towards the body; give your body the nourishment, exercise, light and rest that it needs to flourish - not just to survive.  It is time to acknowledge that it is the body that shows us the way - the mind merely helps with navigation.