I was reading an article by Ross Bishop on “Giving Love” and he made some good points on this most special, wanted and painful of all feelings. We’ve all felt as if our hearts have been broken into tiny pieces.  We can feel crushed, beaten and bruised when we‘re hurt.  However, when we love and are loved, we feel as if we’re soaring like an eagle, free and happy, with the world at our feet.

Ross says,” Although we do the best we can, often love falls far short of the real thing. What we call love is often based more on our need to feel loved, to not be alone, to have someone, to not feel abandoned or unwanted.  It is not that we are incapable of love, for we do love our friends, pets and partners, but often our need to be loved and our fear of not being loved swamps our desire to love. We cannot help it, but we become poseurs, dangling our love in front of another needy soul, so we can lure them in to get what we need. And, we will sometimes pay almost any price to make that happen.”

“The need to be loved can become an addiction like heroin, causing some people to sacrifice everything for it – integrity, honesty, self-respect and dignity. Looking back, we can see the foolish things we did, in an effort to prop up a relationship that was going to fail without artificial life support.”

“Love, in its true nature, is freeing, it does not confine or restrict. True love wants whatever is best for the other, even if that means leaving the relationship. Real love knows no resentment. Resentment is the lingering damage of a wounded ego. Real love is not a burden, it is a joy, and something missed by many parents and rarely found in corporate careers.  Love does not have to be mutual, although when one-sided, it cannot bloom and mature into fullness”

I think it is important for us to read and think about Ross’s words – and how they apply to our own lives. In reality, many of us give love with a condition attached. “I’ll love you, if….”  Real love doesn’t set conditions to be loved, it just is – and it’s beautiful.  Ross talks about a dog’s love. He says,” A dog’s love is just there, no conditions, limitations, no rules…. The challenge for all of us is to learn to love as openly and freely as our dogs do.”

My dear readers, it’s time! We have lived in fear energy long enough. One of our great lessons is to love — really love–ourselves, others and all that surrounds our lives. In each of us is a tender loving heart, that when opened connects us to a loving spiritual energy.  So, focus on connecting to that loving spirit of God.  During the time of this solstice, June 20 – 21, spend some quiet time with the energy and open your heart to love.