This is a quote by Louise Hay.  Sorry, I don’t have the source, but I think it is from somewhere on her website: http://www.louisehay.com/

What does this mean?  What can be gleaned from it?

It means that forgiveness leads to love.

It means that love is achieved via forgiveness.

If you want to love, search your heart and see who or what you can forgive.  If you want to be loved, to attract love, do the same.

Forgiveness is not simply a one-time act, but is rather a pathway that one must choose to walk.  It is a chosen Way of being, of living, that ultimately leads to love.

Could it be true that the greater and more all-encompassing our forgiveness is, the greater and more all-encompassing our love can be?  And is this a healthy, reasonable goal?  Is there a benefit to oneself, and to the world, if we can find a way to increase our ability to love and forgive?

What do you make of this quote?  What are your impressions or insights when you read it?  Does it create a feeling of resistence within you?  Let’s explore it together!

NOTE: All comments are moderated, so there will be a delay before your message appears.  Thank you for your patience. 

The summer sun radiates warmth onto the pebble beach where we are fishing, and flashes off the water of the little river. From time to time, its light reflects off of the scales of the fish just a few feet from shore. My dearest friend is up the beach from me, sitting high on a rock and fishing a shady pool far below. The dog sighs, stretches all four of her legs and settles back down on the warm pebbles to sleep. I haven’t caught anything today, but I don’t mind. I’m really here for the Golden Moment, and sure enough, we have landed in one now.

These are the moments when the flow of life just “clicks.” I am warm, I am fed, I am safe and at peace. In the middle of a hectic life, these moments are so important for healing the soul. They are the times when your pace and circumstances most closely match what the human spirit longs for the most, and they help us regain perspective on the rest of our lives.

To gain the full benefit of these Golden Moments, though, we have to take the time to notice and appreciate them. When we suddenly realize that we feel at peace, that we feel connected to the wild, loving, nourishing Source, we need to open our hearts and radiate gratitude, thankfulness, like the sun radiates warmth.

Whatever you conceive the Source to be – the Universe, God, the Goddess, the Cosmic Consciousness – it cannot be denied that the best way to attract blessings is to be open-heartedly grateful for the ones we’ve already received. We know what a joy it is to give a gift to someone who accepts it with excitement and joy; we enjoy the giving so much more, and we are much more likely to give another gift to that person. So it is for the Source of all good gifts, as well.

The Universe wants to please us and bring us happiness. If it gives me a perfect, sunny afternoon of high country fishing, complete with a pleasant breeze, the magical sound of rushing water, warm rocks to sit on, and the companionship of my favourite, beloved friend and dog – I am free to respond any way that I choose. If I waste my blessing by worrying, complaining, or wishing for something else, then the Universe sees that I am not pleased with the gift and will try to give me something that I seem to want…which in that case would appear to be another opportunity to wallow in negativity.

On the other hand, if I relax into my Golden Moment and let it wash its healing waves over me – if I take a moment to send out a silent prayer of love and gratitude – then the Universe will see that this is the kind of gift that pleases me immensely, and will offer me more moments of beauty, peace, and loving companionship. It will try to be creative, to offer me a variety of lovely experiences, but it will allow me to be the creator of the theme – according to my response to the gifts I receive.

My health is very poor, but I have a friend who loves me enough to carry me in to places I can’t walk on my own. I have trouble eating, but I have a great commercial juicer, blender, and food processor that help to transform tasty, organic foods into the semi-liquid state that I can eat. I am in constant pain, but it is helping me to slow down and begin to experience life as the miracle it really is. I have lost much of the use of my hands, but it is impossible for readers to tell how long it took me to type the messages, posts, or emails I send them, and so my message gets across without apparent hinderance.

The Universe is a friendly place, and a generous soul that seeks to give us what we indicate we want to focus on. Focus on love, gratitude, the positives in your life, and it will give you more of the same.

Here is a beautiful YouTube video of little Declan Galbraith singing “Tell Me Why.” This boy has such depth of feeling and understanding.

Loving is not inspecting hams, stamping purple seals on them, scared to death that someone will find out you stamped grade A on a ham that is really grade B. If you confuse grading hams with loving them, you will close your heart out of fear of being conned.

This is not to gloss over flaws or make believe they do not exist. It is just that you do not have to go to extremes the moment you notice the flaw: “I wanted to love this – was all set to love this. But now it fails by this crucial standard to live up to what it should be – to what everyone knows it should be.” The flaw is obviously there, so you cannot deny it, and you will not get past it.

Everything that you ever receive will come to you in a flawed vessel. All vessels are flawed. That one swears too much, that one makes too little money, that one has a mole on his cheek, and that one laughs too loud. Every blessing, every lesson, comes in a flawed vessel. You can focus either on the contents of the vessel or on the flaw. If you do not like the role that someone plays in your life, you will see a flaw in him. If you focus on it, get lost in negative judgment, you have no way either to love him or to learn from him. There he is – glorious, flaw and all – and here you are muttering about what a terrible thing it is that he does what he does. Thus you waste your blessings.

Frank Andrews, in The Art and Practice of Loving

I had wanted to call this blog space “Heart & Soul,” but the name was already taken! Here is a place to share thoughts, quotations, articles, poetry, art…anything that expresses the heart and spirit in all its glory.

What makes you happy? What lifts your heart and brings you joy? What do you love? Share with me, and I will post anything that I find reasonable. No “adult” content here, please.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

SW (the Spirit is Willing)