Journey On...

"It is better to travel well than to arrive." ~ Buddha

It's 45 minutes to midnight here and as I packed the last item of clothing, this line hit home. I have a flight to board in six hours and as I make my way towards Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur (for the latest book), I am quite sure Buddha's reference to travel is metaphorical. Even then, I can't help but draw similarities between the metaphor and literal sense.

'Life is a journey' may be one of the most overused phrases, however how many of us understand that the journey refers to a spiritual one. Our spiritual journey here on Earth determines the well-being of our soul. When Buddha stated the above, he meant that it is always better to travel well because having arrived means the ceasing of the journey; in effect the end of our spiritual path. As long as we're on Earth, it's imperative to travel metaphorically and literally. Our spiritual journeys and physical ones introduce us to people, cultures and different ways of lives. 

It's spiritually enhancing to see and experience how different regions, call for different ways of life. And amidst all these dissimilarities, we discover a common thread - the bond of love; the lifeline that connects us all. As I ready for my travel, I am excited about research and interviews for the book, but also about discovering the people and the place. While Delhi is a buzzing city quite like any other, I can't wait to get to Jaipur and Jodhpur, run my fingers through the desert sand, watch every individual grain glisten and make their way back to the desert. Our spiritual life is quite like the desert sand; we are all tiny grains in the larger scheme of God's plan. When life holds out its fist and grasps us, eventually the beautiful wind comes and frees us as we make our way back to the desert... to fit into the larger scheme of God's plan.

Yes, life is a journey and we may face bends, sharp turns, smooth highways and pot-holed roads along the way, however, our spiritual learning is priceless. Remember, when God presents us with one problem, he also presents us with several solutions; our real problems lie with us focusing on the problem instead of the solution.

Whenever we feel the desert sun beating down on us, look around and we will see a family that makes up the whole world who are right there with us. We have a long way to travel and our journey has only begun, let's accept God's plan for us and allow him to lead us on.

As I get ready to catch some shut-eye before my flight, I leave you all with lots of love, prayers, blessings and peace. I may not be able to write daily over the next week, but I promise to do so when I can. In the meanwhile, know this; I am praying for you and with you every day. And as I send out my prayers and blessings to you, I believe that the good Lord is showering you all with his choicest blessings always and forever.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone and an even better week. :) I may not be writing for the next week on account of my travels, but please know that each of you are in my heart and prayers always. God bless you all eternally.

P.S: I can't wait to write back. I know our good Lord has a beautiful adventure planned and I will have so much more to share in a week. :)   

Walking with God

"Weave in faith and God will find the thread." ~ Author Unknown

Good morning everyone, as the sun plays hide-n-seek (again) this morning, I am confirming travel plans for this week. Last week was quite hectic conducting back-to-back interviews and it seems like this one is going into overdrive. As my plans for a quiet week seem to dissolve, I believe that God is taking me where he wants me to be. Indeed, he has a beautiful plan in-store and as I prepare for a marathon week of interviewing a fresh set of people for the latest book, I know there's learning and a spiritual adventure in the wings.

Most of us, at some point or another, wished that we were elsewhere - in a different place, different country, different time and probably as different people. But no matter how much we'd like to change our present situation and no matter what the situation is, we must believe that we are in the exact place God wants us to be. If the place and/or circumstances are tough, then God has a lesson in those situations, and if things are going fabulously well, then we're there to help another person in need. I believe that God puts us in certain places, at certain times as a part of his plan in the larger scheme of things. We're all connected by a common bond - love, and we must assist one another when needed. God puts us in certain places, helps us come across certain people and face certain situations because there is a lesson there for us and others.

It's normal to aspire to do better, move to a better place, change one's situation for the better; but remember, that before God's blesses us with the fruits of something better, he hopes that we understand and learn from our current situation. Sometimes, bigger is not always better, sometimes we lose our souls in our quest for change. I've learned that if God wills change, he will grant it to us. We put in the effort and the change will come. However, if God wishes otherwise, no matter what we do, we will find ourselves in the same situation. One may physically be able to change one's surroundings, but spiritually and mentally one is where one was to begin with.

This is where or faith comes in. We must have faith in our good Lord and trust him enough to know that we all are where we're meant to be. We are in a certain place to learn and to share what we've learned. I'd like to use myself as an example here: Exactly six months ago I was in two-minds about my next career move. I had quit the magazine I was writing for and I was in a 'what-next' situation. I knew I wanted to do something concrete in terms of my writing, and just lifestyle writing saturated me. I remember sitting on my bed, looking skywards and asking God to guide me, please just guide me and I will follow. About 15 minutes later, my current company called and asked me to meet with them the following day. Towards the end of the meeting, they offered me a position with all their coffee table books. Books, books - this is just what I wanted. Spiritually it felt right. I smiled because again, God answered me. I spoke to him and he answered me.

Here I was fretting about my next move and all I had to do was turn to God and ask him to guide me. I used a career as an example, however, if we sit down and introspect, we'll find how God guides us through everything: our relationships, careers, travel plans... everything. Indeed, some situations bring pain that is hard to comprehend but remember, God does not want us to comprehend our pain, he just wants us to accept it. There is great learning in pain and tears sanctify our spirits. Some situations make us tremendously happy and God wants us to enjoy that and share it with people less fortunate. Pain is about acceptance and having faith and trust in the Lord, happiness is about sharing and caring for other. And of course all the other emotions have little gems of lessons in themselves. The point is, no matter what the situation, our good Lord has take us there and he has brought us there as a part of his plan. In this journey of life, there will springs, summers, autumns, winters, monsoons and sometimes a mix of seasons - just like changing seasons, situations in life change too. Change and acceptance should be second nature; trust and faith in our good Lord the first.

About a year and a half ago, a very dear friend told me, "You know what, you could be planning something and then something totally different happens." I agree with him, but I also believe that whatever happens, happens according to God's will.

Remember, if God brings you to it, he will take you through it. Just have faith in him and trust him. When in doubt, talk to him, and he will answer you in his time. God answers us when he knows that we're spiritually ready for the answer, when we're spiritually ready for the change.

"God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them" ~ Author Unknown

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :) 

Knock, Knock: Death's Here

A very good-day everyone; it's brilliantly sunny here and as a light breeze and chirping birds dance to God's music, I smile. How good God is and what lovely blessings he has showered upon us. Indeed, while we revel in our blessings and fulfill our destinies on Earth, we must spend a part of our life preparing for death. 'Death' - most of us regard death as a negative phenomenon; but death is a mere phase, a transition our soul makes, from one life to another. Death isn't the end, but a continuation. We've learned to grasp onto life and fear death, and there lies our folly.

Lama Sogyal Rinpoche (a Tibetan Dzogchen Lama of the Nyingma tradition. He is founder and spiritual director of 'Rigpa' - an international network of over 100 Buddhist centers spread across Europe, America, Australia and Asia) narrated a story told by a man to Dr. Kenneth Ring (professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Connecticut and a researcher in the field of near-death studies). The following excerpt is also included in his best-selling book - 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'.

I realised that there are things that every person is sent to Earth to realise and learn. For instance, to share more love, to be more loving toward one another. To discover that the most important thing is human relationships and love, not materialistic things. And to realise that every single thing that you do in your life is recorded and that even though you pass it by not thinking at the time, it always comes up later.

Preparing for death doesn't mean that we cease living; it simply means that we're urged to live fuller lives. Do we truly understand how precious life is? Or are we just use to living it, that death is a far flung thought? When I talk about preparing for death, I talk about being aware that this time is transitional, I mean that the time to give ourselves some soul-food is now, the time to love, care, share, live our lives in goodness is now, the time to realise that our true wealth lies within our soul which is essentially good, is now.

The only time, most of us truly acknowledge death is when we lose a loved one. We mourn our loss, realise for a little while how short life is and then get caught up in the usual humdrum... again. Do you really, really want to know what a near-death experience is like? Try talking to a person who has survived a terror attack, a fatal accident or a life-threatening illness. While experiencing a near-death situation is different from listening to one, the narration helps us come to terms with our own mortality. I reiterate that like life, death is transitional, a phase from one life to another, one realm to the next; but preparation for it is important. We must begin preparations in our physical life to be able to enhance our spiritual one.

Life on Earth is about being thankful for the good time and enduring and learning from the tough ones. So, how do we prepare for death? It's simple really, begin by being thankful for the time we've spent on Earth, thank God for our joy, accept and learn from sorrow (it's pain that strengthens our spirits), call out to him and ask him for help during the difficult times, know that tears (whether they're tears of joy or tears of sorrow) purify our souls, live life in love and forgiveness (arguments - no matter what they're about are futile; it's time to accept our shortcomings and understand another), share joy with everyone, care for people and make it our life's duty to spread love... no matter what.

You could help someone in need, ease someone's pain and tell them that it will be okay because it really will, smile at a stranger, help an elderly person, volunteer at a children's home, do something nice for mum and dad... it really is up to you. God doesn't give us a laundry list of things to do. He hopes that we look within our hearts, know what our list has on it and start working on it right away. And yes, always, always live life in the faith that our good Lord is with us. Remember when we sometimes think that God has forsaken us, he is really carrying us then; he just wants us to believe in him completely... no questions asked. Talk to him and see how things fall into place. God knows our every thought, our every need, our every desire even before we know it. Our good Lord always gives us what we need, not what we want. And we must live our life in his faith, believing always that we are where God wants us to be. (A detailed follow-up post on this tomorrow)

Indeed, preparing for death is one of the best things we can do for others and ourselves because this preparation helps us spread love and joy in a world that is revolves on love. :) I leave you with a beautiful story that was recounted to Raymond Moody (psychologist and author of Life After Life):

When the light appeared, the first thing he said to me was, "What have you done to show me what you've done with your life?" or something to that effect. All through this, he kept stressing on the importance of love.

I am hoping that all of us will be able to answer that question when we face it. And you know what, if we start now, I know we will.


Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

The Soul Story

Good afternoon, everyone. As the beautiful breeze caresses my cheek and plays with my hair, the two lines above sing a song in my heart and soul. C.S. Lewis famously wrote - "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

Our souls; something we don't see, but feel, believe in and live. Our souls are one of God's most precious gifts and most enduring tests of faith. Like God, our soul is something we believe in without seeing. This physical life is just a path towards spiritual fulfillment. So, what are the scriptures trying to tell us in those two simple lines? Death is not the end, just a temporary stop in an ever-continuing journey. Our life on Earth is just a part of a longer journey that our souls must undertake.

When a loved one passes away, our physical being mourns the persons absence, however, our spiritual being celebrates the soul's passing from this life to the next. Most of us wonder what the next life involves; our soul's next step is determined by the path we take while on Earth. Who and what we come back as in a different life, depends on how soulfully we've lived our last lives. Have we been true to our God and ourselves and do we go to a higher realm or do we come back to Earth to pay for all that we've done and imbibe lessons that we've failed to understand? As we face our God and saviour on judgment day, we will have to answer some questions: Did we over-indulge in only worldly pleasures, ignoring our soul completely? Did we intentionally ignore our soul's purpose? Did we try and live as true to ourselves as we could? Did we abuse and misuse love? What have we done for the betterment of mankind, animalkind and nature? Did we allow our ego and pride to rule our lives? Did we depend on lies to get ourselves forward? How many times did we call on God, truly call on God in prayer without expectations, wants and demands? Did we live as God intended us to live?

What do you think our answers will be? Our physical life on Earth determines the path our soul takes. There's no reason to worry, because God is gracious enough to forgive us and allows us redemption. It's never too late to transform oneself and live fuller, complete spiritual lives. God doesn't focus on sins of the past, but on our transformation in the present in preparation for our soul's betterment... our true selves. Our true lives. Indeed, when the angel of death comes knocking on our doors, God awaits us, not to judge but to help us realise and understand that life is about our soul. Our transitional bodies in this temporary physical life are mere instruments that help us fulfill our soul's true purpose. While each of us have our individual soul purposes, the foundation of our physical lives are based on common values that find their breath in love, truth, goodness, peace, sharing, caring and all of God's will.

I've left all of you, including myself with a lot of questions today. These questions are mere little wake-up calls, nothing to be afraid of really, just little post-its for our physical beings. :) All of us have allotted times on Earth and as the clock ticks, we must spend our remaining time in accordance with God's will and our soul's purpose.

Dear God, thank you for a new day

Thank you for another chance to love and serve you

Thank you for reintroducing me to my soul

As always, I pray that when I open my mouth, I may say kind words to all

When I think, please give me the grace to think of good thoughts

When I'm weak, please help me find my strength in you

When I'm happy, help me to praise you and spread the happiness

When I'm sad, help me embrace and accept my sadness for what it truly is

My dear God, please give me the grace to live my life soulfully, just like you meant me to live it


Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Understanding Jīva (Life) and God

The words of Dhamma 

Akkodhena jine kodham (conquer anger by love)

Asādhum sāhunā jine (conquer the wicked by goodness)

Jine kadariyam dānena (conquer the stingy by generosity)

Saccenālikavādinam (conquer the liar by truth)

- Dhammapada 223

The Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture that's ascribed to Buddha himself. My vipassanā practice urged me towards reading and studying Buddhist scripture. As I read on, I realised that all holy scriptures (The Bible, The Torah, The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada) have a common message from God - live life with love. Love. God is universal, it's us, humans who choose to give him a name. I believe in the universal God and I am in the process of reading all the holy scriptures above.

Being the product of a Roman Catholic mother and Jewish father, a lot of people have questions regarding my diverse interest in all holy scriptures, love of mediation, vegetarianism and passion for Eastern philosophy. All I can say is that God is one, God is universal, God is love and Eastern philosophy and meditation bring us closer to God in ways that we cannot even imagine. All the scriptures above help us realise that life is about one thing - love; and all the good things come out of love - faith, caring, sharing, giving, generosity, purity, peace and of course the truth.

Today, I began my day with the above paragraph from The Dhammapada. As I read it over and over, I realised that Jesus too preached the same words. The Bhagavad Gita and The Torah too have examples of living life with equanimity (a state of mental and emotional stability that arises from a sense of temporal detachment from a reality we believe to be true), no matter what the situation.

So, how do we do this successfully? Especially, when we live in a world that is centered around 'I, me, myself'? Vipassanā helps us meet our mind, understand it and help it work with our heart and soul. Once our heart, mind and soul work together, it's easy to live with equanimity. Vipassanā started out as a quest for peace of mind, and has now transformed into a journey that shows me so very many layers to my spiritual self, that there is only one way for me now and that's the next step - the next step towards discovering another facet of my soul.

I woke up this morning, gave God, the universe, my guardian angels (my nana and papa) a big, sunny 'Good Morning' and read the above paragraph. So simple and sometimes, it's so difficult to follow, isn't it? But, vipassanā simplified it for me. You see, vipassanā helps us see things as they really are. When we do that, we realise at a deeper level, that we are just a part of a larger universe. We're here to fulfill our roles in accordance with God's will and leave when he knows that it's time. Life is about knowing oneself enough to realise that we're all children of God. Life is about another person more than it is about ourselves. That is how God lived, that is how he wants us, his children to live.

Think about it - a simple argument with a loved one or friend can turn very ugly if both parties argue. It's normal to have disagreements (human nature remember), but what's more important is to realise that an argument, any argument is not about anyone being right or wrong; it's about two or more people with different perceptions and understandings of a situation. Sometimes, mum and me argue. We hear each other out and try and understand the other. In case we don't, we let it rest for a while and when our minds are clearer, we decide to give communication another go. An argument isn't about the 'I, me, myself' being right - it's about accepting another's point-of-view and being able to move on from there. Of course, throw in a hug, kiss and/or a friendly handshake depending on who the person is. :) To me, this is a practical example of conquering anger with love. This can work in professional life too. Accepting an argument for the sake of peace is okay. Sometimes, sorting out a situation when both people are cool, helps. 

Anger shouldn't give rise to more anger, instead it must give birth to a lot of love and understanding, just as wickedness must be answered with goodness, stinginess with generosity and lies with truth. Indeed, the paragraph above is so simple, but the priceless lessons it helps us understand come straight from God. Religious scriptures are not something we may read and put away; they are God's lessons, God talking to us through his word. No matter what we may read, all scriptures teach us the same thing. I believe our universal God has given us different languages to help understand him better. His lesson though are all the same - all of them begin with love and truth.

If we truly contemplate and understand what he's telling us, we realise that different words mean the same thing - when we do things with love, we're able to look beyond ourselves and feel and understand another. Prayer and meditation are ways that bring us closer to him in a way that a blessed soul knows.

The universal language of love awaits us, our universal God loves us, prayer and meditation will take us closer and closer to him. Here's to all of us rediscovering him in each other and in ourselves.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Solace in Silence

How beautiful silence is, and how unattainable we believe it is. The power of silence is as strong as it is powerful. In this ever-noisy world of ours, silence is almost non-existent... almost. Most wonder about the mystery and power that silence holds -  mystery that solves itself and power, the power of being, the power of rediscovering one's soul. Indeed, silence brings us closer to our true selves, our true nature and in effect closer to God.

I am a silence fan; I like beginning my day in quiet contemplation. The search for inner-peace, self-discipline and mind-control led me to doing a Vipassana course in November, 2008. Vipassana is one of India's most ancient forms of meditation that was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha over 2,500 years ago. Vipassana literally means, to see things as they are. It's a way of seeing one's inner-being, leading to one's self-transformation. This form of meditation requires dedication and constant practice. I began by attending the mandatory 10-day course at Igatpuri in Maharashtra. Before the course begins, all practitioners take a 10-day vow of silence that prevents us from talking to one another, even avoiding eye-contact with another person. The only person we can communicate with is our Guruji, during an appointed question time. Vipassana focuses on the inter-connection between the mind and body, seeing oneself for who we truly are, accepting ourselves and in effect practicing change to overcome mental and spiritual impurities.

Indeed, those 10-days brought me closer to myself in a way that's difficult to describe. As I prepare for my second course in another month, my soul and mind crave the peace and serenity that meditation can bring. See, when we begin seeings things as they truly are, we begin to realise that the life we find ourselves bothered with ever so often, are problems we can overcome with ease. It's really not so much the situation, as  much as how each of us choose to deal with it. Vipassana helps us realise that our 'ego' is our greatest enemy. Our ego and pride are partners in crime and they want us to believe that everything revolves around us. If we continue on a path such as this, selfishness increases and we change our very nature for the worse. I've found that Vipassana meditation helps puts things in perspective and helps me see things as they are.

Here are a few of the many discoveries my meditation helped me make:

Gem 1: Anger and hatred are weak and unnecessary - every situation no matter how complicated is better dealt with love, understanding and putting another person before oneself (my nana always told me to live in love. She often said, "Nish darling, there is so little time for love, how can people find time for anger and hate.";
Gem 2: People will have their own perceptions, don't try and change them if they're unwilling to listen - assumption and perception are what they believe; while it's fair that you present your side of the situation, don't try and force someone to change their perception. The truth always has a way of surfacing and in time, people with assumptions and perceptions will realise;
Gem 3: Take a breather, it's good for your soul - we live in an ever-rushing world, that leaves little or no time for ourselves. However, each of us owe it to our souls to stop, just stop ever so often and breath, sit, contemplate, introspect, embrace ourselves and everyone else. No one is going to give you this time, you will have to make some for yourself;
Gem 4: Most alleged problems are self-made - this too stems from our devious friend, the ego. Most like to believe that they're right, no matter what. But remember, we aren't always right and we're not expected to be. However, we are expected to accept our wrongs and be humble enough to admit to them.
Gem 5: Conquer fear because it is nothing - fear, one of our greatest self-made obstacles usually spring from our minds. In fact, fear is a great cancer that prevents us from doing things that could lead to self-discovery at various levels. Meditation helps us reign-in our minds and find God, in effect conquering fear to live holistic lives at a spiritual level.
Gem 6: The truth begins with love - truth and love are great partners. The truth finds itself in love and love is eternal. Truth isn't what we want it to be or what we make it out to be. The truth is the truth in love - in its purest, eternal form.

I believe each of us see in others what we see in ourselves. Yes all of us make mistakes, but we must accept and forgive a mistake, just like we'd like our own accepted and forgiven.

Accept, love, forgive, live, give, care, share - all without expectation. Live life like this because this is how God intended us to live. This is what God is teaching us all through - simple little lessons that we turn into complex problems.

It's time to uncomplicate and we must begin with ourselves. Come, let's discover who we truly are, it's a long journey but with every step, we come that much closer to ourselves and our God.

So the next time you see another, smile and do unto him/her as you'd like to be done unto you. :) Let's rediscover our souls in quiet contemplation.

"In the attitude of silence, the soul finds a path in the clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after the truth." ~ Mahatma Gandhi 

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

P.S: Vipassana is form of meditation, not a religious sect. Please go to the Vipassana website for all details: http://www.dhamma.org/

Now

Life is about now

What's your now?

Close your eyes, breathe, look within

See who you truly are

Embrace yourself, with all imperfections

Discover truth in shortcomings

Know yourself, connect with your soul

Leave reason, explanation for another time

For now, just be... with yourself

Love yourself

Spread your arms open wide, skywards, embrace God, embrace the universe, embrace life, embrace now

You can fly; wherever you want, whenever you want

You will discover your wings

Your now, are your wings

Smile, hug yourself, love yourself

You always see in everyone, what you see in yourself

Love yourself, love everyone with all imperfections

Your now, is now

So go on, love yourself and everyone else, tell the people you love how very much you love them, hug your family and friends, hug a tree, talk to animals, embrace God and universe, breathe life... do whatever your heart wills you to do in accordance with the Almighty and the universe.

Go on, NOW :)

Your now begins in love, acceptance, contentment, humility, sharing and caring in now. There is no better time  than now.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

That's Amore

"As I started to picture the trees in the storm, the answer began to dawn on me. The trees in the storm don't try to stand up straight and tall and erect. They allow themselves to bend and be blown with the wind. They understand the power of letting go. Those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and straight are the ones that break. Now is not the time for you to be strong, Julia, or you, too, will break." ~ Julia Butterfly Hill 

Good morning all, trust everyone's well today. Today, the above quote by Julia Hill reinforced my spirit. It's a rainy morning and as I thought of people I said goodbye to (my darling Nana, grand pappa), a tiny little tear wet my eye. She (my tear) made me smile, because she stayed in my eye for a bit (almost as if she was scared to leave); and then she gently made her way down my cheek and dissolved with time. :) One tear, one tear who reminded me that even though I said goodbye to the people I love the most in this physical world, it warms my heart when I think of them. (Peaceful, happy tears and faith in the good Lord and the universe are healing, ever so healing). :) 


I believe, love has no end; it's eternal and just because we say goodbye to people we love, does not end the feeling. While we may miss them, and the initial phases involve a lot of tears, questions, pessimism, what-if's, numbness and more tears, we get to a stage when we look back and smile.


I was talking to my soul-sister late last-night, and as we talked and talked and talked some more, we realised that even though we've both said our own goodbye's to the people we love, we're better people because of them. Yes, there was a lot of pain, tears and sorrow, but all these sanctify our souls. We also realised that the tears may not end in a hurry, however with each tear spent, we're that much closer to accepting the situation as it is.


My point is, love - the world and everything in it revolves and lives on and in love. It's such a fabulously beautiful, pure feeling that when we as much as experience it, it brings tears of peace and joy and sometimes tears of sorrow. When we love, we're looking to keep that love. But, the point I am trying to make is that no matter how love transpires, beautiful love changes and still stays the same. I reiterate, there will be a lot of tears, pain, sorrow, questions, numbness, anger and sometimes bitterness. Hey, it can even mean crying out so loud that we need a pillow to stifle out the sob, it can even mean cringing and praying that we can stay that way forever. It could mean crashing, getting up and then crashing again. But eventually, ever so slowly, as time passes, that same pain comforts and that same numbness turns to a healing balm. Amid all things, love is also about having the strength to say goodbye... with a smile (eventually). The anger and bitterness disappear and then we're left with space. It's in this space that we rediscover ourselves and reconnect with our souls. We realise that even though our hearts are broken (probably shattered into tiny bits) we learn to love each of those tiny bits instead of waiting for it to be whole again.


Saying goodbye to the person/people you love, does not mean the end of love, it just means that it is a progression to something new... a newer you. You will be able to look back at the time and smile; and while you acknowledge your pain and sadness, you will know that you were blessed to have experienced what you did. :)


My dear friends, true love has no beginning, no ending. Love is love, in its truest, purest form. Love is also about our hearts and souls evolving to a point where we love enough to let go. It's about being honest with oneself and acknowledging that we may love someone eternally. Love brings us joy and sorrow, happiness and despair, hurt and healing... and it's love with all her emotions out together that make us better people.


Whether it's love with family, friends or even a person of the opposite sex. Love is not about ownership, it's about saying, "I love you enough to let you go. I love you enough to know that this love sanctified my soul and fortified my spirit. My love made me better than I ever was, my love gives me the strength to take that one extra step when I stop, my love gives me hope in the future, my love helped me say goodbye with a lot of pain, sans the bitterness. And when I think about you, my love helps me smile." In the case of a person of the opposite sex, love says, "My love celebrates you being you and now me being me. My love has helped me find the space to love someone else in the future and for that I thank you. I will love you eternally, but I have space enough to love someone else and for that I thank you."

Love is a blessing, one of the best blessings from God. To love and be loved is to be blessed, truly blessed. :)


"Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood." ~ Karen Casey

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone, with lots and lots and lots of love. :)