Yesterday I wrote a newsletter about the perils and promises of peace and change because this dynamic is present in my life, and obviously, also in the collective. But I also wrote about this because I was avoiding writing about the topic of most February newsletters: love.
To tell you the truth, love is a complete mystery to me, and it terrifies me to broach the subject in front of a group of people. As I’m standing in front of a yoga class wanting to mention the “L” word, the thought has crossed my mind countless times, “Who am I to talk about love??” But today I received a series of teachings about love that made me scrap the other newsletter and venture into the scary territory of writing about love to all of you. (If you want to read the other letter, I’ve posted it on my below).
So…deep breath…here goes.
As I said, love is a complete mystery to me. Funny, then, that the teaching from today was–and read carefully, because it’s so close that it can be tricky–is that love is complete engagement with Mystery. Did you catch that? Love is so freakin’ huge and indescribable and mysterious because it’s what happens when we experience the sacred, the numinous, the divine, in all it’s myriad forms.
You probably know this already, but bear with me because I’m learning here!
This aha moment came for me because of two circumstances that happened to me today that I’d like to share with you. The first one is interactive. This came to me in an email-aptly titled “Share the Love”-from my friend Todd Williamson, the co-owner of Ombase. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
I mean it. Check it out right now. It’s only 2 and a half minutes. (And I promise it’s not corny or syrupy sweet). Check it out and then come back and finish reading. ☺
****
Are you feeling it??? (How’s that for ecstatic dance?!) Can you imagine what it would have felt like to be there? You would have had no idea what was going on (mystery), but you would have felt the wave of connection with everyone else (Mystery). And it’s somewhere between the little “m” mystery and the big “M” mystery that love blows open our hearts.
So I know what you’re thinking–that was beautiful and all, but that was such a huge production, it’s just not feasible to do that on a daily basis. Here’s where the second part of the teaching comes in.
Right after watching this clip, I ran out the door to meet a client in Forest Park for a spiritual mentoring session. As we were walking along the trail that he often walks to a site that he considers sacred, we paused and I noticed a funny looking tree; a deciduous tree with leaves on it. Odd for this time of year, yes. But even more odd is that the leaves were wrapped in cylinders around the branches. As my brain was trying to figure this out, my client pointed to the tree and said, “This is part of my offering when I come to this place.” And he invited me to join him in picking a long leaf off the ground, twisting it around my finger into a tight coil, piercing the coil with the stem of the leaf so it would stay in place, and then choosing a branch to slide it onto. As I did this, the same opening in my heart came as when I watched the above clip.
So here it was again, the little “m” mystery and the big “M” mystery together: by adding the leaves, my client had evoked the unknown and had drawn me into what is sacred through the curiousness and simple magic of his offering. It happened again: a moment of heart-opening love.
So here is your assignment for the month: conspire to share a mystery with someone that engages them with the Mystery, thereby creating an act of love. (Extra points for doing it through something body- or nature-inspired!) I look forward to hearing your stories. 
Jay-
I really enjoyed reading your notes on Love, and the big Mystery. As usual, you have wisdom beyond your years.
Your comment “Who am I to talk about love?” struck a cord. Why NOT you? Why not anyone? It’s February, Valentine’s day, and thusly the focus is on romantic love. But there are so many other forms that love takes. There’s the love we feel amongst family and friends, or the committed love between partners. There’s the amazing sharing of positive energy where two separate beings can, with a mere look or shared experience, know love and light. The heated spark when the chemistry is right. There’s also the utter loss we feel when a loved one dies and you wonder if the hurt will ever go away. There’s the heart wrenching, soul tearing, lay on the floor and cry till there’s nothing left love when we’ve been betrayed. Or betrayed ourselves.
Tell me- Aren’t you glad for the grief you feel when a loved one passes? That there was something worth greiving over? What’s the point otherwise? It’s all love. It’s all part of that Mystery: good, bad and ugly.
We can all comment on love. Even you. Even me. The excruciating wonderment of it all.