Love is all there is....
(Re-posting from a Facebook note so I can keep it for eternity.)
My friend posted this:
Via the Dalai Lama: "According to my own experience, the highest level of inner calm comes from the development of love and compassion. The more concerned we are with the happiness of others, the more we increase our own well-being. Friendliness and warmth towards others allow us to relax and help us to dispel any sense of fear or insecurity so we can overcome whatever obstacles we face."
I readily admit that I don't know much of anything about the Dalai Lama, I am a Christian. It is always very interesting to me when I come across other belief systems that mimic the message of Christ: that we are to love God above all else and love our neighbors as ourselves. If you do not like to be bullied, do not bully others. If you don't like to be frowned at, wear a smile. If you want to be trusted, then trust. I esp like the part about relaxing - instead of spending all that time worrying and plotting and stressing over what someone else might be doing, why not spend it doing something sweet and loving and kind for them? Instead of saying harsh words, why not say loving and supportive words?
Another of my favorite sayings is "Actions speak louder than words." You can walk right past your friend or lover, or you can pause and reach out to them - a pat on the shoulder or a quick kiss on the cheek. There's a theory about the Love Bank - everytime you do something sweet and nice and loving, you make deposits. Inevitably you will do something unkind, it's human nature. Those are withdrawals. But if you have 5000 in the bank, losing 5 or 10 is not very painful. If you only have 5 or 10 in the bank, you must be very, very frugal! So the idea is to make as many deposits as possible! I went to exercise class yesterday morning with sink of dirty baking dishes waiting for me... When I got home, the dirty side was empty and the clean shiny dishes were all stacked up on the drying side! That's like triple bonus points! ;)
And because something nice was done for me, getting the ironing done is moved up higher on the list - not 'cause I feel the need to iron :P, but because I know how much the ironing is appreciated. A few years ago I was guilty of leaving every pair of shoes I wore around the house exactly where I took them off. If I wore different shoes each day, there would be 6-7 pairs around the living room. Now - I am still not perfect at putting my shoes away, but because I know that having shoes all over caused tensions, I learned to put them away much more often! I was able to change my own behavior for the man that I love so much. Love can do these things.
I am rambling along about love because I believe that it must be the most important thing in any relationship. You've heard - Love Conquers All - and some do not believe that. But I do, if BOTH sides are willing to surrender to the all consuming power of love and live a life of self-sacrifice, kindness and reciprocity, then Love can conquer all!
Spoil the ones you love with kindness and good deeds! They will love you even more! :) ...and spoil strangers, too, it won't hurt anything and it will make you feel better!
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