Unconditional Love

As I'm exploring why I choose whom I give my feelings to through various workshops, tools, and other avenues, I'm reminded that unconditional love shows up everyday if we just take the time to notice and appreciate it. I've found that animals and children seem to just live and and have their entire beings in it. They come to me with their gifts all the time and give freely with no expectation of receiving anything back. Lately, I've really been paying attention to this love offering. As I focus on this love I am filled and reminded of my inherent goodness and of those around me. I want to share a beautiful, humbling experience I had a couple of weeks ago in a session of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with my therapist's beautiful rescue greyhound, Mochi. Each time I arrive my therapist gives me a doggie treat to give to Mochi. She comes to me ever so cautiously and gently takes the treat from my hand. I stay still and calm so as not to spook her. Most greyhounds have experienced pretty severe abuse as race animals so they need to be handled with loving care. It was probably my third session. I arrived as usual and gave Mochi her treat. The difference was she didn't shy away as far and came up to me more than once to sniff and lick my hand. My therapist and I just stood there in awe as she's never done that before with anyone. As the session was over, Mochi made sure and said goodbye to me as if to reassure me that all is well and I'm fine. It's funny because as I was arriving for that session I sensed a shift in me. Here's a beautiful picture of Mochi which only barely does her justice. She's even more astounding in person (ok...so I'm a little smitten, LOL).


I think animals are a gift from the Universe (God, Spirit, etc). They offer their love so that we can learn how to love in an environment of patience and understanding, devoid of another's ego. I think the same is true of babies and to a lesser degree, young children. I say this because young children are beginning to discover their egos. Nonetheless, young children are also barometer's of love and a good measuring stick of the emotional health of those we introduce them to. My experience has been deep and soul stirring when I look in the eyes of babies and they reach their tiny little hands out to try and grasp my finger. It's a soul-to-soul moment that reminds me of things that are important in life. These moments convince me of an omnipotent, omnipresent Intelligence that goes by many names. It reminds me that I am a part of this just as everyone and everything else is. We are not alone! We have each other and when we connect with "someone special" in our lives it is a gift not to be taken lightly or for granted. It is something to nourish and be mindful of. Something to reinvest in and not to run from when the going seems to be rough.

Here is a beautiful piece by David Lanz, called "Christofori's Dream". I love the piece and the pictures remind me that nature also illustrates that Love shows up all over the place.




So I invite you to notice who and what loves you and how you respond to it. I think you may be surprised at what actually affects you in a healthy way and fills you up until you spill over...yeah baby!! I know I'm "loving" what I'm discovering.

Happy Loving to you,
Stephen

Synchronicity - Life As An Adventure

A while back in my life I embraced the belief in sychronicity, that "there are no accidents". If we take the time to review our life in intervals we can see where events are related to one another. Life isn't a game of chance. We can see how meeting a certain person opened the doors for a meeting with someone else which in turn landed us a job or the perfect realtor, or? We can use the same tool to see how we met our romantic partner or our best friend (hopefully, they are one in same). We can see how we bought the perfect car, etc. I think you get my point. The fun begins when you can look at your life like a big "Clue" game. If your mind insists on taking a turn as you're driving which leads you on a different way home or maybe even a way you don't know then trust and do it. Perhaps it allowed you to avoid severe traffic or an accident. Maybe you discovered a restaurant you wanted to visit or had heard of but didn't know the location. The gift of looking at life this way is that it requires us to be present and in the moment. It also gets us to practice faith. We make movement without having to know everything, how it's going to work, what does it all mean, etc. We actually "show up" for our life and become a conscious, active participant. Experiences become richer as we take the time to pay attention. We realize that life isn't a game of chance where we have no input but in actuality it's a giant playing board where the Universe is conspiring for our Good. Our job is to wake up and pay attention.

Here's a song, "Turn of a Friendly Card" by the Alan Parsons Project that I used to listen to in my late teens and early twenties while living in Germany. This was about the time I entertained the belief in sychronicity.



Here are a couple of quotes relating to sychronicity that I enjoy:

There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.
Friedrich Schiller (1759 - 1805)

Coincidences are spiritual puns.
G.K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

I invite you (if you aren't already) to pay attention to and take the opportunities to trust. Take the way home you never have before if your mind is telling you to, for example. Listen to the voice inside on these simple suggestions and go with it. See what happens, you may be surprised! I know I have been.

See you in the playground,
Stephen