The power of the real “L” word
Let’s discuss Love. This is going to be a short post as what
can someone actually say about the word Love? I’m sure you are immediately
thinking of a whole mess of things that would define the word.
But guess what? That’s your definition. Not one word in any
language will mean the exact same thing to two people. Sorry. It’s true. Unless
you want to grab Webster’s dictionary and go by the letter of ‘their’
dictionary definition and force everyone to use the same one, you are out of
luck on this one. Because if you then go
to Oxford’s definition, you might have to duke it out.
You may still be shaking your head thinking this girl’s off
her rocker. Well, you might be right. Then again, maybe not.
To someone who was raised in a wonderful, affirming,
self-esteem-building family, love is probably a pretty positive word. To
another who was raised in abuse and ‘I love you” SMACK! as they hit them across the face –
they probably view love as something dirty and awful. Or, if they believe love might
be better, as something unattainable for one such as them.
Ah…yes, see. Love can mean many things, can’t it? For some
people, love is physical, for others emotional. For some? It’s a whole
religious thing they can’t quite explain because to be honest they don’t
understand it, but the only thing keeping them walking upright is the belief in
an unknown god who says he loves them and yet allows X, Y, and Z to happen to
good people.
See what I mean? Defining love is kind of like standing at the
edge of the ocean with a Q-tip and expecting to hold back the tide.
So, if we can’t
define love, how do we know when we’ve found it?
What if Love can’t be ‘found’? What if it can only be
experienced? Think about it. Why do we have ‘comfort foods’? They make us feel
comfort, happiness, and just plain make us feel better. In essence, while you’re
sitting on the sofa sick as a dog eating Ben & Jerry Ice Cream, the reason
you feel better is not necessarily the 1200 fat calories you just ate. Nope. It’s
how it made you feel emotionally.
Having sex with someone who makes you feel so flippin' good
about yourself you want to be with them again and again. Eating the food that
makes you feel good. Exercising for two hours a day because of how good it
makes you feel.
We are all searching for Love, right? I
wonder, though, if what we are actually searching for is what makes us feel ‘loved’.
If you were leaving Earth forever, what three things/people
would you take with you? Not flippant answers and you don’t have to say them
out loud and you don’t have to tell another soul about it. But if you truly
thought about it and answered truthfully, the reason you chose those
people/things is not because they are what you love. They are what make you feel loved. And who wouldn’t want to
have those/them around if you were cutting off the rest of your Earth life?
And by the way. That's not selfish. Nope. It's not. We should desire to be surrounded by that which makes us feel good, comforted, safe, special, desired,...LOVED.
But how did I lose
the love I had?
This one is more difficult. I've been there. And no, you are
not going to hear me say “It’s better to have loved and lost…blah blah blah” because
as far as I’m concerned, those words are rude. If you look over your life days,
weeks, and months preceding this loss of what(who)ever you loved, you will probably
see a repeating pattern. Either you began to treat this loved item/person with
contempt, ridicule, or disrespect, or you just lost the desire for it.
It’s a hard pill to swallow to realize we pushed what we
loved away. But it’s the truth. But that’s not to say it’s gone forever. If you
change how you feel about the item, send it love (emotionally, not calling the
ex twenty-five times a day), and let it go. Ask the universe/divine mind/god/all
that is to bring you it’s equal and then work on treating that love better.
- Change your attitude
- Stop complaining
- Only have good things to say about things/people, even those you can’t stand at first
- Open up your heart to something ‘more’
Believe it or not, sometimes we lose what we Love because
something better is on its way. We’ve asked for this thing but it hasn’t
appeared, but what it’s replacing has gone and we feel like we’re in a dinghy in
the middle of the ocean without a paddle.
Don’t Panic.
Relax, bless the love that is lost with happiness/joy/the
best life, and focus on how amazing it will feel when the new love is in your
life.
All right, now that you’re blissed out in that thought, who
has the Ben & Jerry? I have a hankering for some Peanut Butter Cup…And I'm not sick or feeling down or anything. In fact? My life is exceptionally amazing.
Now figure out what/who makes you feel loved and love it right back.
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