The Meaning of Love

Love is...

"The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth."

- M. Scott Peck, M.D. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED p. 81

And here is what I say...

Love is only love

when it is given

freely, willingly, gladly

spontaneously

what is best, noble

and true to the beloved.

And in the process

of giving and receiving love

there is the blossoming

of the lives of one another.

And most surely in a special way

a growing spiritual life

is deeply felt in the apex

of mutual assurance

and strong support

of loving, caring and  norturing
the fullness of personal growth.

And in the fruitfulness

of loving, caring and sharing

even the silence and absence

of what is physical

cannot surpass the depths

and heights and widths

of love's panorama beyond the horizons

of what is beautiful and lasting.

The whole world is a stage

and a great space to be

a man, a woman, a child

a person to love and be loved.

I believe that part of the problem

in any spectrum or experience

of life in the world

is the lack of the real experience of love...

I can only give what I have

If I have no love...

meaning the flesh and blood,

the marrows and bones,

the heart and soul

of a true, real, pure love in me...

I cannot love.

John Powell, SJ said once,

"The greatest tragedy

in the world is not having

the experience of being loved

and loving in return."

My new vision of life is

when there is no love

may i bring and gently offer love.

Out of the sad and bleak reality

of life's unfair situations,

here I am today...

just ready and willing

to accept life as it is
and embrace everything
with gratitude and joy

to value and respect
the things I cannot change

to realize and achieve
the things I can still change
and to fulfill my purpose,
that is,

to do my next 
perfect act of love!