Pondering Love and 'If Only'...
Monday, February 25, 2013 at 3:00 AM “You could search the whole world and never find anyone as deserving of your love as yourself.” ~ Buddha
Desert Heart ©kshIt’s easy to get stuck in the cultural buildup and expectations of what “love” is supposed to look like. A human tendency is to let our brains run wild and manufacture all sort of ‘if only’ stories with the assumption that once we find the precise combination everything will click into place. If only I had a date… if only I were ten pounds thinner… if only my mate would buy me flowers… if only I could publish the great American novel…
If only reminds me of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. “If only I had a heart.” Isn’t that the classic question—if only I had the Perfect love? For anyone who’s seen the Oz story, you know the Tin Man had the biggest heart of anyone. He just couldn’t recognize it because his perception was muddled. Kind of like us seeing love as equal to a giant box of Godiva chocolates or a fairytale existence reserved exclusively for someone else. We forget (or at least discount) the concept of loving ourselves.
What if instead of looking for love outside ourselves we decided to remember Us and we each created our own golden box of chocolates filled with self-love? What might happen if you believed the Buddha (see above quote) and counted yourself as numero uno in the love department? What would a perfect date with you include?
- Take a moment and tap into your senses. Imagine what tastes really delicious to you. Personally, I love roasted vegetables and a divine piece of super dark chocolate.
- How about touch? What feels fabulous against your skin? Is it sand between your toes? A hot shower? Soft puppy or kitten fur?
- What’s your favorite smell? The air along an ocean beach? Sweat after a rockin’ yoga class? Grilled steaks? Blooming azaleas?
- Sight? What location or movie makes you smile every time you see or think about it? What’s a favorite book, poem, or magazine you enjoy reading? Art you admire?
- And let’s not forget sound… What grounds or comforts you through auditory senses? Music? What kind? Deep rhythmic breathing? Silence?
- Imagine each sense is a special piece of chocolate that only you can place in your exclusive golden box. How will you fill it?
Catalina St. Park Sunset ©kshToday I invite you to fall in love with your life. Define what delights and nourishes you. Ask your body what it needs—sleep, movement, stillness?.... Remember the things that make you come alive. Create your own box of yummy self-love and give yourself permission to indulge today!
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
~ Howard Thurman
Reader Comments (2)
Well said, sista!
thanks, Brian!!