30. ALL AROUND YOU

Columnist Sharon Salzberg wrote that we should recognize the abundance of love that is all around us. She says that it is right here if you view the world in a different way. Here is what else she says about love.

“All love is a deep and often wordless connection, a resonance of the soul. Love lifts us up, ennobles the moment, and reinforces our sense of safety. I have found this quality in friendships, in nature, and in my connection to a world bigger and more complex than me.”

Salzberg sees love when we take care of those who need our care, when we connect with our animal friends, and when we volunteer our time.

C.S. Lewis distinguished between Need-love and Gift-love. Gift-love longs to serve and is willing to suffer for another. Need-love draws the infant to its mother and draws us to God. Need-love tends to last only as long as the need exists, while Gift-love tends to endure.

In the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Kira Rider did a “telling” feature about the chemistry of love. “Attraction, love and relationships are fueled by actual chemicals — neurochemicals to be exact.” The article lays out good neuroscience about ways that norepinephrine, dopamine and phenylethylamine lead to what we feel as love. They contribute to heart rate increase, decrease in appetite, increase in excitability, sociability, motivation, dizzy feelings, increase in physical and emotional energy, and not least — increased feelings of joy. Sound familiar?

As a neuroscience fan and as someone who has known deep love, I like to think that this is the way the Master-Scientist chose to put us together. I am delighted to know that my system gets marvelously coordinated when a potential love comes on the scene. Our bodies, minds, and spirits are made and integrated to support the optimization of our potential here on earth. When we get the love-tug — don’t overanalyze — just celebrate!

Q: Do you feel the love in your life enabling you to be the creation you are ordained to be?