A Legacy of Love

“Trust is the question. Love is the solution.” A touching sentiment from a meager teabag. One that did its job and caught my attention yesterday as I tore open the wrapper and placed the herbal package in a cup of hot water. Immediately my mind was flooded with the song “All you need is love” and took me down the rabbit hole of thoughts about love and trust and why we don’t utilize these amazing gifts more often. After some deliberation it was clear. It comes down to a simple choice: we can choose to love and trust, or we can choose to fear and control.

The history of the earth is filled with examples of fear and control. Humans are (collectively) impatient and selfish. We want what we want and we want it right now. Living in an instant gratification society doesn’t help this. We have lost touch with our ability to trust in the natural order of life.

But what is the legacy we want to leave behind for the generations to come? A mindset of fear, or a mindset of love? If we instill fear in our children then they become suspicious and, again, lose their ability to trust. What if, instead, we instill within them the ability to love their way out of any situation they are faced with? Worry is replaced with calm and anxiety diminishes significantly. Anxiety occurs when we stop the flow of love through our heart chakra. If we keep that energy moving then we have nothing to be anxious about. Try these practices to stay in the flow:

Have Compassion

Compassion compels us to have a deeper understanding of someone else’s experience. It gives us the ability to perceive things as they truly are, instead of only through our own personal perspective. In order to see the truth we must first remove personal experience and false narratives. Doing this releases self perceived pain, anger and resentment and gives us more capacity for love.

Have Gratitude

Imagine that everyone in your life is simply there to play a role in order to increase your capacity for compassion. When we view the world from this perspective, we are able to have more gratitude for every experience, good and bad. Open yourself up to the idea that everything happens for a reason, and when we experience trauma we have the option to either receive it with love or perpetuate it with fear. When we say “thank you” for our experiences we are able to see them as they are meant to be seen: a loving lesson to offer emotional growth.

Let go of Judgment

When we judge someone else we are assuming we know their experience. But that is impossible because every perspective is different, even when we have similar experiences. We are making a comparison based on our knowledge of the situation, and creating a narrative for that other person. If we assume to know their experience, then we also assume to know the most favorable outcome for them. But this is based on our own projected fears. If, instead, we let go of judgment and just send that other person love through whatever it is they’re experiencing, we allow the natural flow to return.