Love is a universal need. It is a capacity that we all have; it is within us and arises spontaneously. We are sustained by love and could not exist without it.
However, we frequently have so many neurotic projections about love -of any kind. Social and cultural paradigms, movies, songs and a long etcetera often times contribute to create unrealistic expectations about it. We expect to love and demand to be loved perfectly, not considering the imperfect beings we are. This usually leads to suffering, to not allowing ourselves to be with the experience, to have a sensation of isolation . . . to misunderstand love.
Even though it is a natural capacity we all have, intuitively we can feel it; love needs practice and it certainly can be trained. If we understand it as an attitude toward others and that it includes feelings, cognitions, and behaviors that are focused on caring, concern, tenderness and an orientation toward supporting, helping and understanding others, looking for their happiness and wellness. Daily life becomes the field of practice.
The alchemy of genuine love makes us grow, develop and expand. Love is the affirmation of life. So let the love that is within us, the spark that inhabits in us, to awaken and spread, moment by moment, step by step, path by path, and let it vanish all the barriers we, ourselves, have built.
. . . and, why not? Happy Valentin’s Day.