The month of February, and Valentine’s Day in particular, is a time to celebrate romance and love. Why, when Love is our birthright, do most of us live our lives separate from its healing presence? It is because we have been conditioned to search for Love outside of ourselves, leading inevitably to the often endless, and mostly unsatisfying, search for somebody to love us.
Yes, we can enjoy loving and being loved by other people, but that kind of love comes and goes (if you have been married for a while, you probably know what I mean). What would happen if you recognized that the Love you truly long for is always with you, right here, right now? What would happen if you realized that Love is not something you need to find, but who you already are?
Over the eons, many, many people who have awakened out of their everyday minds through a near death experience, or deep meditation or even great trauma, say that they experienced love radiating from everything. Science confirms this. It now knows that everything – trees, air, concrete, your body, the grass, stars, and even dirt, are all made out of atoms that are filled with Light. David Bohm, one of the fathers of quantum physics, says that matter is an afterthought in a world made out of light. And when you get quiet enough, you can feel that the quality of this light is Love. In fact, every cell in your being is filled with Love, and the more you open to the truth of Love, the more radiant you feel!
Eben Alexander, neurosurgeon and author of the bestselling book, Proof of Heaven, wrote about what happened while he was in a seven-day coma from spinal meningitis. When asked what was the core of what he experienced while he was out of his body, he said, “Love is, without a doubt, the basis of everything.”
Hafiz, the 14th century Persian poet, who was truly awake to this Love that is at the heart of Life, speaks to this truth in his poem “The Sun Never Says,” translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his book The Gift:
Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe
Me.”
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole Sky.
Even the sun is an expression of the Love at the heart of Life, endlessly giving forth its light. In the sun’s giving, the entire earth thrives. In learning how to live from your heart, you become as lit up as the sun, giving forth the warm, radiant energy of Love not only to yourself, but to every being you meet throughout your day.
So I invite you to become your own Valentine. Imagine somebody you love. This could be an animal, family member, friend or spiritual person, living or dead. Feel your heart open as you think of him or her. Now turn your attention to yourself and give yourself that same love, for there is nobody more deserving of your love than you!
