“Love is the answer”. We can feel most of your eyes rolling as you read that phrase. It conjures up so many associations, doesn’t it? From Priests, to Gurus to Artists – they all seem to be banging on about it. Just think about how many prayers, songs, and poems have been composed about love since the beginning of humanity! Well, we figured it must be a pretty important theme if it consumes so much of our energy as a species. So we decided it was time to explore this notion for ourselves. Please note, what follows is entirely our own musing and not backed by science or religious dogma.
The problem with using words to represent concepts is that they are limited by being just that; A mere representation of a powerful concept that is in fact beyond words. What’s more is that we tend to abuse words, throwing them around nonchalantly, becoming more and more de-sensitised to the underlying concepts that they were once conjured up to represent in the first place.
We think ‘love’ is one of these words…A pretty powerful concept which we often use without truly feeling. To us, love isn’t just an emotion, reserved for our family, close friends, and life partners.
We think love is…
- A unique fusion of multiple concepts and feelings, such as:
- Connection – sharing a mutual bond with another;
- Empathy – truly feeling what another is feeling;
- Compassion – desiring to alleviate the suffering of another;
- Respect – deep admiration for another’s true worth;
- Understanding – pure appreciation for the perspective of another;
- Gratitude – feeling honoured by another’s doing or being;
- Joy – feeling pure happiness and utter bliss;
- All rolled into one.
- A force; it can pierce through emotions such as jealousy, egotism, deceit, and anger in others and ourselves.
- Something that transcends space and time; past love can influence present action.
- Something that drives our individual evolution; our life’s path is often a product of that which we are drawn to, that which ‘feels right’.
- Something that breeds authenticity. When we ‘speak from the heart’, we inspire others to hear us, understand us, and get on board with us. When we are being authentic, everything seems to ‘work-out’ for the best and simply ‘fall into place’.
- Something that heals emotional wounds. It allows us to move on from difficult experiences.
You’re probably thinking by now “so what”? Well put simply, we believe that if each of us made it a daily priority to actively connect, feel empathy, show compassion, attempt to respect and understand, be grateful, and feel joy, for ourselves and those around us, the world will be a more centred place. We’ll trust our gut and do what feels right more often, we’ll swiftly overcome unpleasant emotional experiences, and we’ll avoid miscommunication and upset in the first place. Wait… maybe love really is the answer?
Oh, and the next time we mindlessly use the term love, let’s aim to bring our full intention to the word so that we activate the powerful force underlying its mere letters. Don’t fret if it doesn’t come so naturally to you, remember that like a muscle that can be strengthened, the more we actively induce love, the more it naturally exudes from us (that’s backed by research).
