As I brushed my teeth this morning, gazing out the bathroom window, I was wishing it were a better day out for my shopping expedition. Refusing to let the rain ruin my day or dampen my spirit I said:
"Rain won't ruin my Mashpee Commons jaunt.
In it's face,
My laughter I will flaunt."
Nice poetic thought then, but now as I enter The Uncommon Cafe in search of soup and shelter from the weather I spent the better part of the morning battling, I'm not laughing. (Well, now that the soup was warm and good and I see they have fresh brewed coffee on tap, maybe I am beginning to smile a bit.)
Sitting here contemplating the rain, brought to mind a thought about water and love I had recently come across. It was a such a true misperception that it keeps niggling at my brain as I watch the rain fall through the cafe window.
"Beneath the many choices we have to make, love like water, flows back into the world through us. It is the one great secret available to all. Yet somewhere the misperception has been enshrined that to withhold love will stop the hurt. In truth, it is the other way around. As water soaks scars, love soothes our wounds. If opened to, we will accept the angrily thrown stone, and our small tears will lose some of their burn in the great ocean of tears, and the arrow released to the bottom of the river will lose it's point."
After getting hurt by someone we love, our initial reaction is to snap shut, warding off further hurt and pain. This is our very human defense mechanism. Our mind and heart need time to take in and process what has happened. Time to run over the details, and then sit in disbelief. How could this happen? But after awhile, we must open up again. To withhold love is often more damaging than opening ourselves up to "another try". There must always be "another try", because to hold back something that has such quiet force as love does, is more damaging than once again being hurt. Using love as a weapon to invoke punishment upon those who have hurt us by withholding love causes silent damage to our heart, much like high blood pressure, another silent killer. Both in painful times, as well as in joyful times, it's emotionally healthier to stay open…receive what comes. Be tolerant. Listen. Apologize. Discuss…and then put it away, having learned. It is what the universe asks us to do, because we are all connected. Don't stay bottled up. Don't be a cog in the workings of the universe. Stay open, take in love so it can flow back out through you.
It is easy to give of ourselves at the shelters. It is easy to give of ourselves to people who are superficial friends that never get a real glimpse of our hearts. Real life, real love, lives deeper than that. It lives down in the trenches where it gets messy because our hearts are touched, like a doctor massaging a heart in open heart surgery. The heart is exposed. It tears easily. Only a few in our life, like the surgical team, ever get to see this, touch this, feel the fragile beating of our heart.
Never shut out your surgical team. It is they who hold your heart in their hands. It is they who keep you connected to the universe. It is they who save your life.
And so, as another day goes by, love is like the falling rain in front of me, and …I have written.
So well said Linda & thank you………
To withhold love is often more damaging than opening ourselves up to “another try”.
I agree! Trying isn’t banned in this world. Thanks for sharing this wonderful write-up. The rain must’ve helped you with this. Hehe, anyway… Your skills are amazing! I’m looking forward to reading more of your works, Linda.