Love Simply Is

Last night I had the joy to start supporting the Meditation is more than you Think class at the Centre for Spiritual Living, Edmonton.  As you can imagine after spending those three hours in a meditative state or discussing meditation that by the time I came to lead the daily meditation in Second Life that I was feeling very inspired.  But what struck me was the bearing of those I interacted with.  I witnessed much courage and authenticity last night and I felt humbled by it.

At one point I recall saying the following: Fear is where love got forgotten.  A question had been asked by a participant about thinking they had moved past fear and yet had seen fear within them during the meditation. 

Fear, like the ego, will always be a part of the human experience.  Ego has its place.  It is the mediator between the physical and the spiritual world, it is the analyst, and the editor.  In the right context it can bring me value, so long as I do not collapse into it.  I have for some time now taken the stance that I seek to integrate my ego, not deny it.  I honour my ego.  After all, if God is expressing through all then God definitely had something in mind when creating ego.  If I can assume God knows what they are doing, then surely this is a good basis upon which to accept ego whilst remaining aware of it. 

And so it is with fear.  Fear has its uses.  If I am caught in a burning house fear will activate adrenalin and provide me with enhancements to my physical body so that I can seek survival.  Fear is healthy so long as I am aware of it and do not collapse into it.  But much like the ego it is not so much the reaction of fear than the response to it that really counts.  If I collapse and lose myself within fear, then I have forgotten love. 

And with this still in my mind I felt inspired to tweet and post Fear is where love got forgotten to Facebook.  This post inspired a comment. What about the fear that love is being ignored?  The authenticity of this question struck me.  The one posing the question was obviously touched by the comment at some level and felt inspired to ask a meaningful question.  I cannot say that my response is the right answer, but it was my answer. 

Love does not need acknowledgement and so cannot be ignored. Love simply is. When we live in love we honour the most profound quality in the Universe. And so even if the person or event that is the target of an expression of our love should be ignorant of or ignore our expression this in no way invalidates that the love has been given, just like the clouds do not invalidate the sun. And yet love given with the expectation of acknowledgement is love with an attachment; and attachment leads to suffering. We should love regardless of our love being ignored, and tap into it in an unconditional form.