Reflections on Lovingkindness Day 8 of 10: Be Free to LOVE
Our hearts and minds are divisive. They constantly draw lines of "good" and "bad,” "right," and "wrong."
The problem is that what is "good" for you may be "bad" for another person, and what is "right" for you is "wrong" for someone else.
We grow out of the sandbox of childhood in terms of our chronological age but do we come out of it at all as we continue to fight for what's "mine" and "yours.”
The only thing that changes is the object’s name: The doll becomes my wife, husband, or partner. The toy car becomes my house, job, honor, pride, power... etc.
Wherever a line is drawn, conflict ensues because as long as there is "mine," there is "yours,” as long as there is "my opinion," there is "your opinion."
The problem is that we do not embrace these differences and instead view them as a threat.
Instead of feeling threatened and defensive, we can strive to love EVERYTHING: good and evil, friend and foe, sunshine and hurricanes...
Here’s my takeaway from Sharon’s Day 8 Meditation:
Be Free to LOVE
Day 8 meditation was about sending lovingkindness for all beings.
Day 8 of this lovingkindness practice expands our hearts even further to include ALL beings in this world.
I love what Sharon said:
"Something inside gets freed when we realize we are part of the whole."
No matter how lonely we may feel or how much we judge and think, "I am not like that person,” we are all interconnected.
Our lives are intertwined in their joys and their sorrows. No form of life escapes suffering.
While we may not have control over the things that happen to us in life, we control how we respond to these experiences.
"Freedom is what you do with what has been done to you."
~ Jean-Paul Sartre ~
So there is freedom in interconnectedness and how we respond to the events we experience in life.
As I did today's meditation, I experienced peace, freedom, and expansiveness. Sending loving kindness to all beings allowed me to be who I am, let other people and the world be who they are.
In essence, we also learn to love ourselves fully with all the "good" and "bad" aspects through loving ALL.
"By loving the darkness in others, we love the darkness in ourselves, and thus can integrate the parts of ourselves we do not want to accept."
This is why sending lovingkindness to all beings frees us to love unconditionally.
May You BE Safe, BE Healthy, BE Happy and Live with Ease,
Paula
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