Love is not …

A glowing fire on a cold winter night,

Kiss from a loved one,

Making love for the first time,

The face of your newborn baby.

Love is not …

The sound of birds on a summer morn,

Snow melting on a warm spring afternoon,

Graduation,

Knowing a new best friend.

 

 

 

Love is not …

The new home,

A first grandchild,

Your birthday celebration.

Love is not the blessings showering our lives.

 

Love is

Clearing out the corners,

Full of dirt and despair,

When we help because the response is natural,

Not contrived, or reward seeking.

Love is

Doing the least rewarding,

Least expected.

Stepping out, and seeing a self,

We need to be, not the one we are.

The self of humility,

The non-seeking self that dwells within,

Deeply hidden behind all the curtains,

And facades, faces, clothes, possessions, airs, the perfume of disguise.

The one behind all,

Our heart revealed to ourselves and to God,

Sacrificial, forgiving, tender, vulnerable, loving.

All of the time.

 

Love is not

To be measured,

But radiated;

At certain times only,

But forever. Always.

 

 

May I love today without agenda,

A pure spirit, devoid of myself,

And full of you.

Alone. Where peace will return.