Looking for Love In all The Wrong Places
Most of us spend a lot of our lives looking for love in places that can never provide that permanent sense of joy and lovingness. Love has many synonyms- approval, acceptance, unconditional regard to name a few. Some of us look for that in work – in family – in substances or in success and sometimes in community- even in church and as frequently are disappointed – feeling unlovable and unloved.
There is a funny meditation story that if you are looking for your dog or you cat – don’t sit down to meditate. Look under the bed, the closet or outside. On the other hand if you are looking for love and peace, sit down and look inside. You will never find love and peace outside.
This past week brought a deeper alignment with that paragraph above. It felt like a kick in the stomach for two days running – a full on rejection of what I have to bring and offer and certainly a denial of love. As I checked whether that was coming from outside of me in the circumstances and people, I find so challenging – OR inside of me – in my thinking, my interpretations and my self-doubt – well you can guess the answer.
Looking within simply means looking beyond your personal thinking – and the feelings that thinking produces. It can seem difficult but it is actually as natural as breathing. Because we feel separate from our true nature – it feels like a long journey to find that peace. But it’s more like a mistaken identity – we already are and have everything we need for love and joy – but since we are looking where that love isn’t we suffer. Suffering may seem like a strong word – but any time away from love and joy and our true nature doesn’t feel good to us and over time it can lead us to suffering.
Over these next few weeks we will be looking at the obstacles to love – to knowing love as who we are – and we will be using a wonderful and simple method to leave any unwanted feeling behind. It may seem too simple but I just ask you to consider the possibility – that life, even with all its challenges even with what we would label pain and loss – just behind those thoughts and feeling is our true nature – the solutions to all our so-called problems and the ease of well- being.
Stay with me on this journey – its going to be grand!
Living in harmony with life is not a process of you doing something, but the process of undoing.
