Page 49 - Reflections_over_Akamas

To love...

... is to be love. Over-ambitious you may say. Pretentious you might add. ‘I love
you’ is a declaration we make to those for whom we have profound feelings.
However, our understanding and expression of love can be complex and

multifaceted. Sometimes, we may offer love thoughtlessly and excessively,
while at other times we may withhold it for trivial reasons. This kind of love is

not genuine or unconditional; it is exclusive and fleeting. True love is difficult
to grasp, but I have come to realise that the kind of love I had been seeking
has been present in my life all along, waiting to be recognised and embraced.

Love… a gentle source, just like the tender mid-autumn sun of Akamas,
which scatters its soothing warm kindness everywhere, with no other

intention than to give to everyone and everything. You will never hear
the sun say, “today I love you less today than yesterday”. Ever! It shines

consistently, every day, equally for the good and the bad, the sinner and
the saint, for the ugly and the beautiful alike, no matter what. Indeed, you
genuinely give love because you are love.

And so, as I practise love, I experience it for myself. But how can I be certain
that I am truly practising love? Well, if love is the spark of new life, then to

‘love life’, no matter what, is a virtuous practice. Love all of life as it comes.
We don’t need to like everything and everyone we encounter in life; instead,

we should cultivate a sense of acceptance and understanding for all life
experiences, both the bitter and the sweet.

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