For my final article on power in our lives, I want to remind us that the power of love is always in and around us.
This week, I read an article by Father Richard Rohr on the power of stillness. However, I also found parts of his article that discussed the power of love. In the quote below, he says we notice love when we pause and be still:
When I am still I do not empty myself. I would rather be filled with love than have nothing within. And being still allows for this to happen, or rather
being still allows for you and I to notice that this has happened already. The love is there within us, even now. Yet sometimes the waves of life rage so incessantly that it is difficult to see or feel that love. …
Pausing and being still enough to notice love within and around is a deeply powerful and countercultural act….
~ Father Richard Rohr, https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-power-of-stillness/
I feel love when I choose to look at life from the perspective of love being around me.
Life can be hard and messy, but when I focus on that messiness, I don’t see love as easily. I realize I’m focusing on the wrong thing!
Sometimes, looking for love in life makes our situation seem more bearable. I just shared with a group of out-of-state friends how much love I feel from them, which makes my life seem lighter and freer! I’m not sure they’re doing anything differently than they usually do, but I chose to observe their love and express my gratitude for it. Did I need to be still, as Father Rohr suggests, to notice their love? Maybe, but acknowledging their love was very powerful.
I remember when I was younger and we sang and talked about love making the world go around. Pretty ‘pie-in-the-sky’ thinking at the time. But was it? If we don’t live and express love, what and who are we? Having come of age during the ‘hippie era, ‘ which emphasized love in all forms, this is a concept I am familiar with. I learned at a formative age that we certainly aren’t living our best life if we don’t give and receive love. This thought is more true now in my life than ever before.
The discussion with my out-of-state friends really emphasized the power of love in our lives that we often miss. Perhaps it is time to be still, as Rather Rohr suggests, and notice that the power of love can change our world. It is worth a try, don’t you think?
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