Love Is Where It Is, by Kevin

Here’s a thought-provoking reflecton on love, by our guest post Kevin Thompson from Resting Times.

There are days when I long to be elsewhere. Anywhere else.

Things seem stale, usual, or even mundane. So, usually, most of those days are spent inside my head, thinking of the ordinary, and seeing very little possibility. Everything seems familiar. Mostly because of my lack of interest in seeing the present moment as a new moment.

The road that is traveled to my house seems the same. Each step from the driveway to the front door seems rehearsed. Words spoken to my family upon entry to my home seems familiar and rehearsed. Eating a bite for dinner, sitting for a time on the deck, and off to bed.

Luckily for me, I catch myself on those ordinary days, and imagine the impossible. I do something just a little differently. Perhaps brushing my teeth with my left, instead of my right, hand. Maybe the right sock goes on first rather than the left. Instead of exercising, I might meditate. Rather than sipping tea, I might sip coffee.

What is most helpful during any day filled with the usual, is realizing that some people actually come to my town on purpose.

They come for vacations, business, and to see family or friends. There are mountains, there are rivers and lakes, and there are great restaurants. My hometown is a destination.

Every time I get a chance to “get away”, I pass people from the town that I am going, who are coming to the place from which I just departed. All for the same reason. What I find fascinating about their city, they most likely, at times, find stale, usual, and even mundane. This is human nature.

Relationships are like this. Spiritual practice is like this. Employment or even entrepreneurship, is like this. Anything the human is capable of doing, has the potential to become a burden instead of a blessing.

The blessings do not change, but the perception of the blessing changes.

We should not feel ungrateful or believe that we should feel guilty for not realizing how fortunate we are. What is true, is that we should simply be aware of the feeling and do something to change our view of what is happening in our lives. Not in order to appreciate things to be gracious, but to enjoy one more of the many ways an event might be experienced.

For those of you that drive, you might shake up your day be getting into your car from the passenger side. If you eat well, snack on small things during the day. If you have a meager diet, try something a little more. When you are faced with a challenge, do the exact opposite of what you are known for doing. My personal favorite is to take a minute to send an acquaintance a small message or drawing.

Once, while in Manhattan, upon exiting an apartment building for the southern US, I found myself with only a $1 bill. Staying in New York was not an option and I needed to get home. As I exited the lobby, I held the door for a young man and said, please take this dollar. With a smirk he looked at me and said, “I don’t need your dollar.”

I replied, “I know, but I need the karma much more than I need the dollar. Please, take the bill.”

He did, and the adventure home began. That adventure is too long for this article. Twenty years later and I feel somehow that I am still on that journey home. The only thing I know for sure, though having had many dollars since, is that I always need the karma more than the dollar.

It is this way with my thinking, my words, my imaginings, and my drawings. Someday I might need the dollar more than the karma, but for now, I am lucky enough to send encouragement into the world and let it fly and land where it will.  

Here is what I know for certain. Without any doubt. There is in all of us, a spark of the divine that exists both within and outside of what we consider our form. If you close your eyes, you might even imagine that you and it are one. And if you are able to imagine yourself as one with the divine, with love, it might not be so hard to imagine yourself as one with the creation of which you are a part.

If this proves too difficult, my recommendation is simple.

Think well of yourself. Think well of your place and position in the world. Be more grateful each day. For simple things and big things.

Take deep breaths and enjoy the simple pleasure of rest. Understand that you are as much a part of the universe as the brightest star. That you have the ability to affect everything in a positive way. You are worthy of great things. The secret is to realize this and be able to receive love.

Love is where it is. Kindness is the way to get there. Peace is what will light the way. May you find all three.

Remember the good times. Consider the most wonderful solutions to the most difficult problems. Keep reminding yourself that there is nothing stale, usual, or mundane about the you that is born anew each day.

Love & Light,

Kevin