Love is.

June 25th, 2012

What is love? Writers have written and painters have painted and musicians have sung since time immemorial their answer to this question. Which one got it right? Which one came up with the truth about love? They all did, each and every one of them.

When we ask what is love and who got it right, it’s like asking which drop of ocean water is just like the ocean? They all are is the answer. If we could ask every mammal, fish, crustacean and plant in the ocean to describe that thing that surrounds them, that thing that gives them life, that thing that makes their life possible, we would get an infinite number of answers and they would all be right.

We, you and I and all the others, live in a world of love. We are surrounded by love, we breathe love, we eat love, we hear love and we see love. For it is the love of nectar that the honeybee pollinates the flower that becomes our food. It is because of the love of the farmer for her family that she plants our food so that her children will eat and have the money for clothes and education. It is the love of literature that drives the man to become the teacher and share his joy. It is the child’s love of a puppy that takes the animal home from the shelter and brings more love to the family.

There is the love of sweethearts, the love of children, the love of parents, the love of art and music and colors and laughter and rainbows and beaches and mountains and yes, the love of God. We are indeed surrounded by love and yet we feel at times that we have lost it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

How silly would it seem to us if we were to watch a fish in the ocean swimming around trying to find this thing called water. What would you say to it? The same thing God would probably say to you. “Relax, love is all around you. Do not spend your time looking for it but rather spend your time being grateful for being in it. For if you were not in it for even a moment, you would perish. If you exist at all it is because of the love that surrounds you. Enjoy.”

(C) 2012 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com

 

Imagine

June 18th, 2012

I’m back! First and most importantly, I want to thank you for your powerful prayers and wishes. I couldn’t have come this far without you. Four heart surgeries have taken a toll but I am healing and improving every single day. Thank you.

We have all read and practiced the powerful notion of being in the present moment, the Now of Eckhart Tolle and others. It is true that being totally present when communicating with another adult or child is the epitome of respect and love and caring. It is true that being in the present moment brings us an awareness and clarity about everything around us. It is true that all we are ever living is the eternal now but what do you do when the present, the now sucks?

When there is great pain or great loss, the present moment can seem dark and bleak. I, for one, do not believe that a person is helped in any way by staying or contemplating that darkness. For Heaven’s sake, why would you want to stay in a place that made you feel horrible? We have been suckered into believing that we have to get up and dance with every dark mood, shadow or pain that walks into our life. Rubbish!

God has given each and every one of us gifts beyond counting. One of the greatest is our imagination. We use our imagination to plan a vacation to take a break from the toil of work. We use our imagination to plan a wonderful weekend. Why then can we not use our imagination to plan for a better time than the present if the present is unbearable?

It is in using our imagination and planning that we create everything in our life. Why not imagine and plan for a brighter future when all is dark and painful now? See a brighter tomorrow. Feel Grace overflowing in your life. Imagine everything getting better and hold on to that.

Events can throw us into a dark dungeon at any time and we have two choices. We can close the cell door and wail about our plight or we can open the door and start moving towards something better. Your life. Your choice. Free will. Imagine that!

(C) 2012 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com