All you need is love

Love is everywhere. Sometimes we lose sight of it. I know I have at times. I think we all have. And this is when we struggle the most. We feel like we're swimming against the tide, even caught in a rip. At these times we don't recognise love is within us, and all around us, that we and everything and everyone around us are the products of the greatest acts of love of Mother Nature.

Why do we lose sight of love? In our rush for more money, assets, and indulgences, more friends on Facebook, more knowledge, more beauty, more power and so on, we sometimes lose sight of our loved ones staring us in the face or of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. The sun, the blue sky, the different shades of green in the trees.

How often are we like the exhausted dad who is trying to rest on the aeroplane near me as I write? He opens his eyes and angrily refuses his 10-year-old daughter's request to look at her Ipad for a few seconds. He is likely too exhausted from the extended hours he worked before the family left on holiday. In his act of love in providing for his family, he exhausts himself. He then loses a moment's opportunity for love with his daughter on the first evening of the family holiday.

Savour each moment with a loved one. What can you do to ensure you are able to savour each moment?

Love Spreads in Troubled Times

In some of the most troubled places on earth we witness the greatest acts of love. During war, famine, floods, fires, tsunamis, we witness the greatest heroics. People who naturally and selflessly love others enough to put themselves in danger or discomfort for the benefit of others.

Love is for ourselves, our families, our friends, our work colleagues, our neighbours, our acquaintances, the shop keeper, the person in front of us in peak hour traffic, the person on the other side of the world starving, the animal's habitat that is being destroyed for the sake of a non-essential product that could be produced by alternative means.

When we see love as less than all encompassing, we limit ourselves. We can experience love in each moment if we slow down and take in the miracles that are around us each and every day. Look up now and notice the clouds, the breeze in the trees, the sun.

Love is Self-love

Love is slowing down, and resting, allowing the body to relax. Love is accepting ourselves, and our so-called flaws, weaknesses, or limitations, forgiving our mistakes and feeling compassion for ourselves.

Allow yourself at least a little time each day to do something that shows you how much you love and care for yourself - play your guitar, sing a song, do yoga or meditation, spend time with your pet, walk in the fresh air, take a long bath, listen to your favourite music, eat your favourite meal and enjoy it, drink your favourite drink, watch your favourite movie, play your favourite sport. Do whatever makes you feel good.

Love is Loving Others