WHAT IS LOVE, PART 1

WHAT IS LOVE? 

Baby don’t hurt me…don’t hurt me…no more…

Ok, enough of that! Some of you will get that reference, some of you won’t, but…
I bet I got your attention! 

So what is love anyway?  How do YOU define LOVE?

I have heard so many definitions of LOVE in my lifetime and I’m sure you have too…but how many times, or should I say how many moments, have you actually experienced love?  How many times have you FELT LOVE?

I bet you are like me.  You can easily recall any slight to your pride whether that be something that happened to you when you were five years old or just yesterday.  I remember a situation from when I was just two years old.  Yes, two!  I tend to take things personally.  Or at least I used to.  I’ve learned to grow up.  I’ve learned to change. 

Now think of all of those experiences that you felt TRUE love.  Oh, it feels so good, doesn’t it?  Of course you have all felt this…don’t say you never have.  True love is not always between a man or a woman (I know what you’re thinking and that’s not where I was going with that-but I do believe we have broken through those barriers these days).  True love can be snuggling to your dog or cat (or horse, or hamster, or iguana, or snake…if that’s your thing).  Who better to snuggle with than one who loves you unconditionally?  It’s the same kind of love you feel when you hold your newborn baby for the first time…they are so innocent…new to this world…they’ve never talked back to you (yet, lol).  You’ve carried this thing inside you for nine months…it literally kicked the $#*! out of you, and you just feel this incredible, unconditional love.  Have you ever felt that same feeling with a romantic partner?  If so, did it last?

I am willing to bet it did not.  You may feel it in moments, it may come, it may go, but I bet it is not constant. 

We are brought up to believe in a “fairy tale” (for lack of a better word).  We are brought up to believe you find “the one”, “the love of your life”, “the one who will sweep you off your feet” and while you may have found that person…or all three of them 😉 (haha, joke), I bet you don’t feel unconditional love every moment of every day for that person. 

Why?

Because love is work.  Because we are not perfect.  Because we do not live in an ideal society.  Perhaps this life is “a test”.  Perhaps this life is “a school”.  Perhaps we are here to prove to a greater power that we ARE capable of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.    

So what is unconditional love?  Unconditional love is loving that person no matter what.  No judgement. 

It is not only loving your partner, your kids, your animals, your friends…it is loving your neighbor…even though they may have wronged you…it is about loving thyself…yes, I’m going old school Shakespeare with thyself…love yourself.  Someone once told me you can’t love anyone else if you don’t love yourself.  It makes sense, right?  Just like you can’t take care of anyone else if you can’t take care of yourself.  Good advice, and so very true.   

You have to take care of you.  You have to love yourself first.  If you are not feeling love towards anything, take a look at YOU.  Do you love yourself?  Remember that is the greatest love of all.  Whitney Houston was onto something.  Too bad she could not get herself to continue to believe that. 

I have come across so many people that feel they are not worthy of love.  I am not going to get into details here, but can you believe that? I just can’t believe we are all here to live “miserable lives”.  I believe we can all be happy and we can all attract everything that we want in life.  I always talk about “the big picture” and when I say that sometimes people don’t exactly understand what I’m saying. 

Do you believe we are a part of something greater?  Something so much bigger we just can’t understand it yet?  Yoga teaches us that we are all one…we all come from the same place.  Instead of judging, try to understand.  Don’t take everything so personal.  Everyone is here on their own path…most things THEY DO are not meant to affect YOU…but it may be a path they need to take.  Focus more on your path. 

When you truly find yourself, everything falls into place.  Where you need to be in the world.  Will you still wander for answers?  Perhaps.  But things just feel…right.  You feel secure in your own skin.  You feel secure to be YOU.  Who cares what anyone else thinks?  You won’t jive with everyone and guess what? That’s OKAY!  Do you connect with EVERYONE you meet?  You’d be lying if you said you did.  There is always going to be someone that rubs us (or that we rub) the wrong way.  Not everyone is going to like you and you are not going to like everyone you meet and that’s okay!  You are going to have failed relationships…failed love affairs, failed friendships…maybe even indifferent feelings towards family members. 

But we must remember to love everyone…unconditionally, as a whole. 

I want you to think of all the great ones here…Buddha, the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Jesus.

Yoga teaches us that we are all from the same place.  I love this analogy…we are all just drops of water that will one day return to the big beautiful sea.   When you look into someone else’s eyes, I want you to try and see yourself.  Try to see the universe.  Try to see God.  Namaste means the divine light in me recognizes and bows to the divine light within you. 

So change your perspective.  Focus on finding that light within everyone.  You might be surprised with what you see. 

Most importantly, focus on finding your own light within yourself. 

Be aware of judgement!

NAMASTE my friends.  You may not get my humor.  You may not like me.  You may not even know me and decide you don’t like me.  But we all need to love each other. I will try to love everyone, every day, unconditionally.  It is a process; but it does start with loving yourself. 

Keep your eyes out for part 2 of the saga. 

Much peace, love and light to you all. 

Kerri  xoxoxo

P.S. If this touched you in any way, please leave a comment below.  I would love to hear from you!