Today,
As I sit here,
It is February 14,
2024.
It is Valentine's Day,
And I've heard it said that February is the month of love.
And I've had a curiosity,
I've been holding a curiosity about the word love,
Which gets
used so much,
Thrown around here and there,
To the point where I think it may be abused
or misused or overused.
So I got curious about its source,
About its meaning and application,
Maybe.
So here is the definition from the Oxford Dictionary.
Love noun,
An intense feeling of deep affection or a great interest and pleasure in something.
It can also be used as a verb,
In which case it's to feel deep affection for something
or someone,
Or to simply like or enjoy very much.
As in the sentence,
I just love dancing.
Or perhaps I just love sitting and being with this moment.
And so that is my invitation right now.
What would it be like to turn to this moment with a sense of deep affection for whatever
it is that we encounter?
So turning towards the light in the space you find yourself in right now,
The quality
of light and what that activates inside you in terms of the emotional or energetic response
you might be having.
And then turning towards sounds,
And they may be the sounds of nature that are pleasant,
Or like for me right now,
The sounds of traffic streaming past my window.
Noticing preferences to sounds,
Judgments,
To include that reactivity also in awareness.
And to turn towards that with affection,
Knowing that this is life unfolding,
And whatever
the circumstances,
Knowing that this aliveness,
However it feels and whatever it breathes,
Is reality itself.
And then more intimately turning towards the interior landscape of the body,
And noticing
its aliveness,
And abiding within that,
Being with that which is.
Could that be an affectionate abiding,
A turning towards love,
Or being loving to
action that word which began this conversation or contemplation as a guiding force,
As a
guiding light.
Perhaps turning towards the question,
How can I love this right now,
This which is present,
Which is alive,
Inside and out.
How can I embrace it,
Turn towards it,
Rather than away,
With that sense of curiosity.
And maybe even affection,
To whatever degree I am able,
As best I can,
Right now.
The light may be changing,
The sounds come and go,
Presence remains,
Presence embedded
in affection,
In love,
Punctuated by sounds,
Held,
Relinquished,
Celebrated,
Attained,
This life,
This breath,
This now.
