I Am a Source of Love for the World
Everyone has the same capacity to love. Some choose the path of love, and some don't. We have no idea into anyone's experience except our own. Even when we share a similar experience with someone, it is impossible to understand the precise effects, what their inner landscape feels like, and their resulting perceptions of the world.
We cannot control other people or outcomes. Despite knowing this, I try all the time. And I am always a little in disbelief when something happens and I have to remind myself yet again, we cannot control other people or outcomes.
We can change ourself. We can lead by example. We can be a source of love for the world.
Love is our truest nature. The path of yoga points directly to love, as the source, the center, and the essence of all beings. Imagine, all the texts, practices, and years of history, all leading us to love. Love is so simple yet at times impossible to put into practice. Before I get to love, I often arrive at denial, judgment, blame, and self-rightousness, until finally landing on love.
The good news is that the practice of choosing love has gotten much easier for me. In learning how to love myself, I learned how to better love others. By accepting myself (my entire path) I am better able to accept others. By throwing out ideas of "rightdoing and wrongdoing", as Rumi describes, I arrive as the nonjudgemental witness. Wide open and out of ideas, I arrive in the field of surrender. I am reminded of what I can control, and what I cannot. I am humbled into not having a solution, and forced to enact my faith.
What would it look like to act as a source of love in this moment? What would you do to access that indestructible truth within you, that never dies, even in the face of unimaginable pain or hardship? What does love look like for you today? Self-love, an act of kindness, meditation or prayer, service...