Canyon of Faith: Part 3- We All Need Love

During my recent visits back to church I've been pondering the canyon which separates the faith I once had and the faith I have now. What really separates the me from 5 years ago from the me of today? How does our understanding of the universe shape our relationship with its inhabitants? Does our definition of God have an impact on our relationship with man? As always I'm not out to bash Christianity but to wrestle with the unasked questions themselves, and in wrestling I might find some enlightenment even though the question may defeat me.

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Love, although essential, is often denied. It should come as naturally as breathing, yet it doesn't. We choke on the fumes of fear, fear of denial, rejection, exclusion. I know I put up barriers to my heart so that I won't get hurt, but I know that's just fear. Fear is the mind-killer...

I've recently recovered an email buried away in an old email account flooded with junk mail. The email is from a friend, Paul, I've been in contact with via email. He occasionally responds to my posts and I found his recent message so illuminating I thought I would share excerpts. Paul's email was in response to the previous two post in this series, he focuses on the denial of love.

I think there is “Love” (or Source, or God, or whatever. As you state, words are constricting) and then there is “The Creation of Love” and it’s this “creation” point where we as humans go so awry.

How do you “create” love? That’s what an organized religion tries to do. Love just is. Always has been, always will be. And love is not ethereal. It’s practical and always in everyone’s best interest. Love is all encompassing. It is expressed in the smallest action, a kind word or smile, to something as large as an unending supply of oxygen via photosynthesis, a process in which the most abundant life form (plant life) takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen, thereby insuring the survival of the most intelligent life form (man).

His thoughts struck me so hard it's as if I received a revelation straight from the divine, and now whenever I catch myself acting unloving I envision myself denying that person love. But why would I want to deny anyone love? Paul continues with a simple explanation.

You can’t learn to do what you are. You can only deny it. The problem doesn’t lie in teaching, modeling or imparting what you are. The problem lies in the reasons you deny it. Acknowledge and correct that. Peace follows.

Why should any of us deny love? I'm not sure about the other 6 billion people on the planet but I can tell you why I do it: fear. I'm afraid, like many other people, that my love won't be returned and that I should be loved as well. We clamor for each others love and attention like siblings battling for their parents love. I completely agree with Paul, Love is always present, we just have to acknowledge and correct the reason why we deny it to others. In a sense that is the purpose of this blog, for me to discover that I have no reason to deny the inhabitants of the world any amount of love. What separates the me from today from the me 5 years ago is that I acknowledge the denial of love and I'm actively seeking to correct it. I fail constantly but I press on. I am thankful for the incredible insight from friends like Paul and I thank him for the humbling reminder that we all need love.