What is Love?

Love is a state of being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it and it can never leave you. ~ Eckhart Tolle

Love. We feel it, hear about it, talk about it, desire it, seek it, and this week the Supreme Court ruled on it.

What is love, really?

Though we can’t really name love- as language falls short of encapsulating the breadth + depth of such an emotion or energy, there are ways we can act that are more embodying of love than others.

In my years of study at Landmark Education, they defined love as follows:

The acceptance of someone exactly as they are and exactly as they’re not.

Pure acceptance. No expectation.

This gets to the heart of what I think is the profound message of our time- Byron Katie talks about it in The Work. Eckhart Tolle in his books and lectures. The Supreme Court in its ruling on gay marriage.

It’s going with what ever is arising in the present moment.

I’ll say it again.

Going with whatever is arising in the present moment.

When we can accept the Now, as Eckhart calls it, when we are in alignment with life, as it is, right now, we have peace. We experience love. We can accept those around us and live in harmony.

It’s when we go against the grain, wish something were different, that we end up in pain and distress.

The way I see it, people who have opposed marriage equality have been trying to deny what is and wish people were different. This creates discord. In the honor of what is, in total acceptance of people’s choices, we find love.

If I expected you to be different + to do it my way before I would afford you rights, then I’m not accepting you as you are, nor am I accepting what is- I’m pushing against, wishing it different.

As a country, we finally acknowledged that love is acceptance, love is allowance of rights, without demands that someone be different than they are. For the first time in a long time, I feel pride in this country. As I see the buildings of my government light up in rainbow colors, in the name of justice + equality, I am moved.

In my own life, I have moments, days and weeks where I find myself being in harmony and love in my most intimate relationship. It is in these times that I’m always just accepting what is. I get a kick out of seeing how long I can go, just enjoying my love as he is- with no desire for anything, or any way he’s showing up, to be different.

Whenever I love my lover as he is, we get along famously. As soon as I begin to have opinions about this or that, that I didn’t like this thing and couldn’t he have done it my way, or differently, or better? Well, that’s when the proverbial shit hits the fan.

It’s not easy. Our egos love to be right, to justify, to make others wrong. Why? It makes us feel strengthened if we are against someone or something else. We feel powerful. Or, our ego does, at least.

The ego knows not of love. The ego knows separation. Conflict. Drama. Comparison. Love is pure flow- allowance.

So, the next time you find yourself getting upset- I invite you to pause.

What’s really going on? Is your mind trying to be right? Are you wanting to prove your case?

Are you playing the role of a victim? Are you wishing the present moment(or some person) was not as they are? If so, see if you can surrender to what’s happening right now, as if you created it, or as if you asked for it to be this way.

As Eckhart Tolle says, the universe will always give us the exact right circumstances for our evolution. If that’s the case- how could anything that’s happening now, not be supposed to be happening? We know it’s what is supposed to be, for it’s what is.

I started this blog on love before the Supreme Court decision to allow marriage for all. The hashtag + phrase I saw all over Facebook was #lovewins.

This country decided to stop resisting what is, to stop trying to thwart people and to accept. Love is acceptance. I see this as a sure sign that we are awakening, we are opening our hearts, that the light is outshining the darkness.

The people who wished to with-hold marriage from people we’re trying to strengthen their egos through judgment + separation, for that makes them feel stronger. Superior.

Our nation’s desire was acted upon through our government, it’s a wish to side with love, to honor love, to quit resisting what is- and to accept people exactly as they are and exactly as they’re not, and to allow them to marry, in full freedom.

This is love in action. Love does win, and I feel certain it will continue to win. May acceptance and love continue to be the order of the day.

I leave you today with the closing paragraph of Judge Kennedy’s gay marriage ruling:

 

 

 

 

 

 

He writes that “they ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law” for love does not discriminate. Love does not condemn, nor judge. Love accepts, celebrates + endures. #lovewins.

I look forward to seeing acceptance and flow, with whatever is, continue as we grow in our awareness + consciousness as beings on this planet. I see that flags of hate are falling, governments that condemn will fall, and people will continue rising up in the name of love.

 

XO

Rachel Claire