LOVE

There's nothing like falling in love.  Remember back when you were seventeen, carefree, and your romances were EPIC!   Butterflies in your stomach just thinking about someone you liked.  Experiences were in technicolor and felt monumentous.  Or maybe it was when you were twenty two, but either way, it was magical.  Just driving around was an adventure and going to a party felt like the event of the century.  You were in love with life.  Time stood still and everything in the world felt right.  All your cares fade away and in one moment, a whole lifetime was filled.

For me, having a baby is like falling in love, experiencing love that is indescribable.  You understand what love means, what life means, it all shifts.  It's overwhelming to realize you have opened yourself up so much, you are vulnerable to being hurt deeply...but you can't help yourself.  You watch your baby grow up and they don't love you less, they just need you less.   They move out.  I cannot imagine this part-but I'll be wiser when it happens-to deal with it.)  You can see it as just change, not a loss of what was, but rather a new relationship with the same person who use to need you and thought you were the center of the Universe.  When the kids grow up, you are left with you. Your realize your life was always about you, all along. The journey was about falling in love...with yourself. 


You see, we fall in love, eventually the other person gets busy doing something and life happens, we cannot hold the stars in our eyes for someone forever.  This is OK.  Life makes us forget to live in the moment.  We were never meant to only feel good about ourselves through someone else's eyes.  It is really our connection to our soul and God that really nourishes us, without that we can never really love another.  When our hearts get broken, we wish we never loved in the first place.  The truth is everyone who has ever been in your life was a piece to your puzzle or they never would have been there in the first place.  People show us who we are through them.  People are our mirrors.  We learn through everyone, we learn about ourselves.  Relationships make us grow, every single one can bring you feelings of joy, love, fun and anger, sadness, disappointment. 


 We may find through on our love journey, that we avoided certain aspects of ourselves that we didn't like.  No one likes to feel uncomfortable so we distract ourselves by blaming others, judgments, and even not being present.  Beating yourself up doesn't work, you force yourself to change but it doesn't last.  In actuality, embracing ALL of who we are is the key to falling in love with ourselves and life for that matter.  The high that we felt from falling in love and being young and carefree may be gone but you can live in the NOW again.  You can fall in love again...with life...with yourself.  When you can observe your life, you can find that what you want to feel and you can change things.  

Being young and in love, was about feeling enthusiasm and freedom.  You had a zest for new experiences, no fear, you didn't care what people thought. You felt entitled to enjoy the richness of life.  Pleasure wasn't a bad thing!  Joy and passion ruled the day! Back to reality of today-you can fall in love with a new person every month or  living on the edge, jumping out of airplanes-totally in the NOW.  You don't even have to change jobs, partners, or where you live-you can change your thoughts.  Perception is everything, decide how you want to live.  You can genuinely be present in your everyday experiences, choosing to live an extraordinary life each day. 

It's nearing sunset, you're driving along in your car listening to music and you can:
A. Think about what someone said that pissed you off...People are always mean things to me. (victim mode)
B.  What you have to do...I never have enough time.(victim mode)
C. Look at the sky, feel the music, appreciate life-in-that-very-moment, energized and relaxed...I am grateful for so many things. (Joyful perception)*Like attracts like, so whatever you are thinking about or focusing on-you attract the same.

 If you think you can't be positive or think optimistically, well you already decided you can't, but everyone can change their mind.  Change your thoughts, change your perception, change your life-you can love your life.  It always comes back to love.  Surround yourself with what you love, find more things to love, and see love all around.  I love the ocean, I see the vast, infinite, beauty connecting me with everything in the Universe.  I cherish every moment there and that's why I live by the sea.  I love watching sunsets over the bay, in those timeless moments-I feel free and young and blessed.  I will never get sick of seeing the sunset, every day, I marvel at it.  I am a lover of life.    To fall in love and experience love, you must love.  Fall in love every day with something or back in love-remember how much you use to love something and think back to it it, appreciate it again.  Love, love, love lots and you will see...you are in love, with yourself, life and LOVE.  Love is all there is.