LIFE is so fleeting that if you do find love, grab it with both hands and keep it. Don’t throw it away.
Being the recipient of love, whether you are 16 or 76, always brings out the best in you. We women bloom and we are on top of the world. Men too become less grouchy and the grins on their faces are seen a mile away.
However, some people are blessed like some couples I know while others are not. Does that mean that single ladies who have not yet been found by Sir Galahad are missing out on something? Of course not! Do widows, widowers or single parents find themselves to be neglected children of God? Of course not!
Each one of us has love already planted in our hearts. On whom we lavish it on, that is our choice. If that love is not reciprocated does that mean we are losers? Of course not! The act of loving, of feeling so engrossed in dreaming, in fantasizing over that one special person is an experience worth having. Even the pain of being rejected is worth the experience because one who has freely given pure love grows wiser.
Am I being too idealistic for comfort? Yes, I am. But I believe in the adage, “It is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all.” However, a caution to the young (ages 12 to 22): do not be hasty in labeling a crush, or an attraction to what adult people define as love.
Young people usually are taken in by smooth-talking, handsome married salesmen who at the moment are away from their wives. You may go steady with people your age but again, the values of a decent girl must be upheld. Wives are chosen by men who prefer women who’ve kept themselves pure for the man she will eventually marry. I’ve often been told that what I believe in no longer exists in this modern world. I beg to disagree. I have former students by the hundreds who, when they introduced their wives to me they say, “I waited for the right woman to come along and here she is!” Men like to show off their wives with pride, with no qualms what so ever. I know this does not sound nice especially in print but the lives of movie actresses who are passed on from one celebrity to another is no model for our young.
To go back to pure, unadulterated love with no ulterior motives (money, mansion and cars) one still blooms even if that love is unrequited. For example, when the object of your love looks at you with interest (or so you think) or he says to you, “See you soon,” the feeling of being transported to another world is an experience worth the danger of falling flat on your face. Having known what it is to love, one now understands how others may feel when they receive love.
To the laborers, domestic helpers, drivers, employers of hotels like Miko of Crown Regency and so many others who serve behind the scene, thank you for loving many of us without expecting anything in return. Labor Day was really to honor all of you. We do love you and respect your choice of honest work.
Meditation, the John Main Way, is so enriching as a way of prayer. All of us committed to meditation will attest to at least one great fruit of meditation. Being rooted to the God of love, we have found so much love in us that our cup over flows.
The love for our spouses, the love for one who remains at the center of our heart sprouts faster. Moreover, we discover that, there is still so much more love for the beggar whose palm is outstretched even if we know she gambles. There is love for the watch-your-car-boy who comes to offer his services. There is love for the sampaguita vendor who comes waving strands of sampaguita garlands.
There is love for the one-year-old girl who sells candles. We are also touched by vendors who sell brooms and mats for a living because we know how heavy their load is. We feel for cigarette vendors on street junctions as they criss-cross the street to earn money to survive.
Meditation opens your heart to so much love and to so much forgiveness without limitations. Love is a better beautifier than any cosmetic. When one glows with love, this kind of beauty shines especially in the darkness of other people’s lives. Unconditional love is a gift from heaven. Hold that treasure well protected in both hands.