Love

Love is a much used word. While travelling in a friend’s car I heard a song played many times called ‘Let’s talk about love’. So let’s do that, let’s talk about love. We misuse such a powerful word so many times in a day, that we can diminish its true meaning. To truly Love is just that in its self, for its self and no more or less than that. But that’s not what we usually do, is it? What we invariably do is say “I love you and so I want you to love me too” and so it’s conditioned. Is that love? If we really examine this situation we will see it is not real love but a disguise for the real thing.

For me the nearest I have got to the source of unconditional love is the love and care I have for my teenage grandsons. Because they are removed from me and not my responsibility my love is detached in a way that is very natural and very undemanding. They can get into little bits of trouble, they can get angry, they can do many things. But I still love them and am there for them, whatever.

I can enjoy their friendship and they mine, but we don’t put pressure or demands or expectancy on the relationship. Therefore we can love each other and it’s not painful or hurtful in any way. And yet of course if I am really honest with myself of course I am attached to them and if I am even more realistic then it must be inevitable that one day if any misfortune should befall them, well that’s when the pain would play its part.
Maybe that’s just caring and so just part and parcel of loving. I hope so because as humans we have the capacity to love and I suppose what we have to learn is to use wisdom and love together, hand in hand, so to speak.