Feb 14th - The Power of Love | It's Time to Meditate

Feb 14th – The Power of Love

‘The power of love can move mountains’ is a well-known expression. But what is the kind of love that is needed to move a mountain? How sturdy and strong, and yet at the same time flexible and supple? It seems like a tall order in a world that can sometimes feel lonely and hostile.

Love can be described as any number of emotions from pleasure to pain, which is why it is unusually difficult to define. But the bottom line is, it’s a ‘good feeling’. To love, and to be loved is an elevated state of mind, in which there is acceptance (without judgment), in which there is respect (without measure), in which there is care and attention (without seeking a return).

‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’, is also an equally famous statement. But which neighbor? We might ask. The one living in the house next door? Or the one on the train or plane, the queues and pews, and the cubicle next door?

This elusive experience or state of being called love has enchanted, enraptured and tormented many a lover throughout time. This single four-letter word has the power to conquer hearts and minds.

Almost every heart is in search of it, and if we do not find it in the ‘significant other’ then our attention goes to our friendships, fads, food, fashion and fragrance, we search high and low to quench the thirst.

‘All You Need Is Love’ was sung by the Beatles in 1974, and countless more songs novels, poetry and movies have extolled this topic than all others put together. If love is the key to happiness, then it is also the engine, the headlights, the wheels and the windscreen!

Everyone profits on February 14^th – the Romeos and the retailers! This day marked as the day of love will witness an array of red love hearts and teddy bears in a variety of fashions and fabrics.

Yet the real depth, richness and colour of our love will be measured by the authenticity and validity of that love. But if the ’love’ that we bestow upon another is deceptive or not reciprocated, it can be the cause of untold anguish. How genuine are we when we give that symbolic fluffy heart?

Ironically very few are able to recognize that the love we are seeking is right here, inside of us. Much like the story of the princess who turned the whole palace upside down looking for her precious and most beloved necklace. After much frantic searching she happened to look in the mirror – only to find that in fact it had bejeweled her neck all along!

Love has as much meaning as we attach to it. We casually say that we love our food, our pets, our jobs and our family. Yet when love is tested, at the end of it all, it is the bond of human relationship that conquers all. At its deepest level, love transcends differences and unites us all as one human family.

True love breaks all borders and boundaries. True love is not ‘what I can get out of’ a relationship, but what I share with another. True love remains ever-green, it doesn’t have expectations, it never runs out, and in its deepest spiritual sense it is our essence, our very core. To continue the words of the Beatles song: ‘Love Is Everything…’

It’s Time… to love, unconditionally and selflessly. Love is the question and love is the answer. Love is here… just look in the mirror!