Love And Loving

Tu B'Av celebrates love—not only the feeling that sweeps us off our feet, but the choices that quietly shape a life. In this meditation, you'll begin by reconnecting with moments of warmth, affection, and gratitude, allowing your heart to soften without forcing emotion. From there, you'll gently explore how love becomes action: caring for your own body and spirit, extending kindness to someone close to you, and imagining one small gift you can offer the wider world. Whether love feels abundant or distant today, this practice invites you to discover that love is both something we receive and something we create, one compassionate thought, word, and deed at a time.

Transcript

Just quitting on the world. Putting it aside. The world is very big and round and vast and spinning very fast. And you are at peace, And now it is time to take peace for yourself. These moments are just for you. A self-care, Not necessarily a selfishness. A gift. Slowing down. Getting more quiet, Coming into stillness. Meditation doesn't have to be anything. You don't need to make it into something or force it into a shape or a silence or an emptiness. I'm not sure even the experts can do that. And it's just time to be by yourself, To narrate your thoughts, To feel a little unusual boredom. Giving time back to yourself. A gift. Rolling with it. Noticing what you feel coming into this meditation, What you need. Peace, Relaxation, Harmony. Ease, Creativity, Gratitude. What you want to cultivate in this time. Set your intent to cultivate that. It might not work. And it might work unbeknownst to you. What's your breath doing right now? Shallow or deep? Quick or slow, Where are you? As you feed yourself with air, And oxygen in particular. And send out carbon dioxide. Maybe you can deepen your inhale and slow your exhale. Which might reverberate in yourself as a slowing and calming. Breathing in deep, Out slow. A couple of percent deeper each time, A little bit slower each time. Your breath makes a good cue when you wander. When your thoughts drift. You might drift into good or ill thoughts, Fantasy, Anxiety. You can stay there as long as you want, And when you're ready, Come back. Use my voice or your breath as a cue. You might use your body and its sensations as a cue to return. Where you might spend this time in daydream and reverie and ignore what I'm doing. If that's what you need, That's okay too. This is time for you. It is time to do something loving for yourself. This meditation is about the feeling of love. And even more important, The work of love, Its actions and expressions in the real and physical world. What would it mean to love yourself? If you think about loving yourself, How does that feel? What's the emotion, The vibration, The sense? Does it seem challenging or false? Pleasant and fulfilling, All of that and more. Breathe into that feeling. And out slowly. Feeling love for self. Love without action is just breath, So open yourself up to what it means and what it might mean to enact love toward yourself. As noted, It could just be meditating. That is a kind of self-love. Let your mind drift and think of ways, Small and large, To give yourself love. A long walk, A pet. Good night's rest, A healthy meal. And more. Expand the ideas of what it might mean to do love for yourself. Not easy and important. Breathe into those potentials and possibilities. What might you do today, Now, And in the close future? To love yourself better. Who act in love to self. Breathe. Inhaling deeply, Exhaling slowly. Remaining quiet and still. Scripture reminds us to love our neighbor as ourself. Or some moments cultivate love towards other. Could be a neighbor, A spouse, A child, A student, A coworker. Or beyond. What is it to feel love for another? Notice that feeling. What comes up, Where it resides in your body. Breathe into that feeling. Take it in. Begin to absorb love for others. As you breathe, Open yourself to how you might enact love of others. Feelings are nice. But actions. Are what we can do. What might you do for others, Or one other in particular? Doesn't have to be big. Or complex. Small, Simple, And precise could be enough. Offering them a bagel could be all it takes. Kind word on the path. And just feel that motive force to do a good for one other person. Breathe into it. Maybe you breathe in and exhale with the ancient breath word SELA. Cellar like a yawn Settling down. Continuing to be heavy. Continuing to expand and slow your breath. What does it feel like to love the world? With all its mystery and horror and joy and complexity. Spinning so fast with so many. So many species. Chemicals. Check that feeling. Love for the world. As far out as you could extend it. What does that feel like? Breathe in deeply to that love and exhale it slowly. As you feel that love, What would it make you do for the world? There are actions you could take. Concrete, Perhaps simple, But clear. What can you do for the world that will show your love? What might that be like? Expressed in action. And motion. Not just emotion. Explore it. Maybe he'll come up with the answer later. That's good, Too. Breathing slowly and gently. Take a few more breaths as you. . . Devote yourself to loving actions, To self, Others, And the world.