Love

Someone recently told me that there are only 2 emotions: Love and Fear.  Fear is the center of anger and sadness, while love is the center of joy and peace.

Not being a religious person, I'm not one to swear by any one religion or follow it's principles wholly, or blindly, but I think there are positive things that can be taken out of most religions.  For example, Christianity says to love thy neighbor as thyself.  There are a few things to take out of that.  One, we have to love ourselves if we are ever going to honestly love anyone else, and two, we have to show love and grace for others the same way we would want love and grace extended to us.

We are all spiritually damaged, and at times, that damage can manifest itself into behaviors and choices that hurt others because we, ourselves are sick, selfish, and self centered by our very nature, and incapable of truly considering others.  So when someone mistreats us it's only right that we extend them grace and love (as much as it may make us sick to our stomach) the way that we want grace and love extended when we make mistakes.

I recently had an epiphany brought on by a reading someone sent me in an email.  The Earth, is a global ecosystem.  Each forest is an ecosystem, each pond, each beach, the ocean, every environment on this earth is an ecosystem including the human body (we have organisms within us depending on us just as we depend on them.)  It is the same spiritually with us and other humans, other animals, other organisms, and even the Earth itself.  We are all connected.  When one part of our system is sick, it's important to nurse that part back to health so that the system itself can become and remain a healthy functioning machine.  What do we do to nurse them back to health?  Yet another great quote from a friend of mine: "bless them change me".  As much as it hurts to utter these words to yourself or the universe or your god, it is vital to the health of the ecosystem as a whole.  How do we "bless them"?  We ask ourselves, how can we be of service to this person?  That may mean helping them with something they need, or it may simply mean a smile, or a friendly response when a negative response is expected.  Service comes in many forms, but if we want to be healthy, we have work to keep the entire system healthy and nurtured.

So when I am so hurt by something someone did or said (which I recently was), I can either decide to hate that person and hold contempt and anger in my heart, or I can decide to let all that go, and look for the places where I can be of service to those around me.

"Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something give away" ~John Lennon

"Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding" ~Albert Einstein

"If you want peace, stop fighting.  If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts" ~Peter McWilliams

"Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace" ~Jonathan Lockwood Huie

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" ~Jimi Hendrix