It’s fear. I used to think it was hate. And that’s not altogether wrong. But at the root of hate (and anger, pride, jealousy, etc.) is fear. It’s the cage of fear that we spend our lives beating our fists against. Any of us can break out of the cage, but we have to burn through the bars with the brilliance of love.
I used to think love was a noun. Now I believe it’s a verb. And now I know it’s not the same thing as attachment. Because guess what’s at the root of attachment? Yup, that bully, fear. But love takes courage. It’s not easy or comfortable like attachment. I used to think love was supposed to feel good all the time. But often it’s difficult and scary and leaves us feeling like we’ve run a marathon or fought a battle. Real love is not for the faint of heart. We have to make ourselves vulnerable, over and over again, to love well. Yikes.
But real love cuts the deepest channels into our souls. And it rests in there, nourishing us and allowing us to nourish others.
Y’all, I’m scared to post this. I mean, “we have to burn through the bars with the brilliance of love”? I honestly don’t know whether that’s profound or cheesy. I think I’m supposed to know, and I think I’m supposed to change it if I figure out that it’s cheesy. But I need to publish this and move on to something else, and if I take the time to change that, I might not ever publish this. It’s an act of love for myself to post this anyway, not knowing.
I wish for all of us to do those little or big acts of love for ourselves and others, over and over again, every day. Hitting “Publish” now…