WHERE DOES LOVE LIVE?
“If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls.”
Maya Angelou
Where does love live and are we brave enough to allow it to live within us? Most often my writing is inspired by unexpected moments; they would be nondescript to many. The moments are usually innocent and simple.
Like so many of my sisters, my heart has been broken and has mended. The problem is with each repair it has become a little harder and doesn’t open as easily as it once did. With these methods we tend to protect ourselves; but are we missing life changing moments?
My inspiration found me unexpectedly again this week. While lying on the sofa wrapped in the arms of that man I fear most with my heart; the dog decided she was going to be part of the moment. She carefully climbed on the back of my legs and nestled down. Once she had positioned her body comfortably, she sighed and put her head down on my behind.
I could not help but admire her tenacity. After all, she knew she wanted to be loved and a part of what was happening at that moment. It did not concern her that her only pillow would be my behind; she grasped the chance of happiness and feeling loved, regardless of the circumstances. As she settled, I chuckled and asked that man if he was comfortable enough. He didn’t mind, which probably made me hold my heart a little closer.
As we live with our canine companions they offer us many lessons of unselfishness and existing in the moment. After all, we all remember the joke about locking your significant other in the trunk with your dog and see which one is happy to see you when you release them. It will not be your significant other.
Unfortunately, life can knock us around and teach us its own lessons and we tend to grip those tightly, afraid to loosen the ties that protect us. Eden Ahbez wrote, “The greatest thing you will ever learn is just to love and to be loved in return.” The simplicity of this statement carries great weight. We find ourselves terrified of just loving and being loved. What if the people who love us falter? What if we get angry and stop loving them for a moment? Does it disqualify the quality of our love? And, by the way where does love live? Is it in our heart? Or our soul? Is there a special compartment we keep it safely tucked away in?
Love seems very complicated to define; much less identify where it resides. If we love we risk so much, but the feelings we experience when we love openly and honestly allow us to live fully. It’s impossible to love someone and not want to give of ourselves to them. Love is full of laughter and tears, it is happy and sad, it is in the simplest and most complicated moments, it is in a look that passes silently between two people and it is a touch that speaks as no words can. But where does it live?
Love resides within each of us. It can cause the ache in our chest, the smile on our lips, tears of happiness, tears of despair, pride bursting from us; love permeates our being. It is not limited to our heart or soul, for it cannot be contained. It drives us and that’s why it terrifies us. It finds us when we least expect, and it causes our world to spin. Love is defined and experienced differently by each of us.
We have to ask ourselves if we would rather live in our safety net or are we willing to open ourselves to the possibilities? Can we release our demons, our hurt, our fear and experience the unexpected moments? Love may be a collection of those moments. Do they really have to be perfect? Maybe they should just be lived. Love lives in you. Love and be loved.
SGHR