This is not an invitation to ‘good vibes only’. Choosing to actively Love, as a verb, is the hardest work we, as spiritual beings attempting to have a human experience, will ever do.

Turning each other into verbal and physical punching bags through jokes, passive aggressive insults, degrading comparatives, volatile threats and reactive headlines is easy and accomplishes no peace. It’s also a survival mechanism we can grow past if we choose to.

Love requires us to humble ourselves to our own pain, to think, to use our capacity for consciousness, so we can recognize and respond rationally to the pain we see in each other.

Love is a choice we must consciously make, sometimes from one minute to the next. It is a muscle built through determination, commitment, grit and daily practice, fed by forgiveness, rest, reflection, self-examination, and informed, compassionate action. We have to fight (usually with ourselves) for the time it takes to practice Love.

When we choose Love, we become capable of dissolving the self-mindedness of ego; stubbornness, hate, pride, fear, denial and the violent reflexes of our wounded, primal brains, which only serve to perpetuate everything that continues to destroy us.

To Love is to engage our higher self, to do the often brutal work of self-regulation and personal accountability in spite of systemic obstacles, to stop making excuses for why we are not responsible for our selves and each other, to use our prefrontal cortexes and demonstrate our full potential as sentient beings. The human expression of Love is who we are all designed to be.

In other news, I slept like shit and woke up screaming. I witnessed a police-related fatality when I was three or four years old. I’ve written and deleted that sentence a dozen times. I want to say a lot more but this is the best I can do for now, aside from the entire book I wrote which explains everything. Like I said, choosing Love is not easy but it’s our greatest hope.

xo

My beloved friends, let’s keep loving each other since God is Love and we are made in the image of Love. – 1 John 4-ish

21 thoughts on “Love Notes”

    • Thanks dear friend. None of us need to sleep to experience nightmares these days. The Guardian said it all. I was journaling earlier and a man drove by the house on his bike screaming out protests against the current situation. Don’t have to own a tv to hear the news. The people have quiet literally taken to the streets. I have to remind myself that human service is my full time job which means preserving my energy to do what I’ve been doing for nearly half my life: trying to be part of the solution in the most thoughtful way I can. Hoping all is well and safe where you are. Much love.

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      • We’ve had a heavy house the past few weeks but what I’ve noticed is it seems to be a global trend. We’re all dealing with big personal stuff on top of big global and systemic stuff. Pandemics, sociopaths, human horrors of injustice. I’m figuring the dark and light (good and evil, god and the devil..whatever you wanna call it) are having some kind of cosmic blowout and we’re all being called to get in the game and do our part. So, I’m exhausted but leaning hard into love and gratitude and I won’t budge.
        How are you doing? I hold that image of you in Ireland so dear. ❤️

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  4. ”So, I’m exhausted but leaning hard into love and gratitude and I won’t budge.” I’m trying to hold to this too even in very challenging circumstances. Yes. It’s hard work. Worth it though. Luckily we don’t have to love everyone. Just believe in the stuff.

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  7. I finally got around to reading this post, and it made my day. Thanks, E! Yes, it’s all about intentional consciousness and love. I can’t wait to read your book!

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  8. When the world is nuts and everyone (well, everyone in the WH, which is supposed to be the People’s House but has become the fortified bunker of the demagogue in chief) is amping up the destruction of our democracy, I can come here and read something thoughtful. Something to remind me to take a breath and examine my flaws and reconsider my actions. So thank you for making me face the awful thing I did yesterday that I could have done so much more kindly and had a similar outcome – without upsetting an old man who was probably confused. If we tear open our hearts, making ourselves vulnerable to self examination, remorse, and finally atonement, then we can eventually earn forgiveness. I fail often and once in a while, I do something decent. You brought it home – I should be more kind. I should love more.

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    • This virtual hug’s for you Sharon. ❤️I’m so glad you feel something good when you come here, something that helps you open your heart to more love. Wise words in your self-reflection. (I think given the circumstances of the world, we’re all bound to be eating our feet or being short. Hmm…maybe we’re short because we eat our feet?) Thanks for sharing this. So much love.

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