When You Love Somebody...

From the lovely Vic at Freckles and Fudge:


You give them your all. Your whole heart and soul. You give them things you never thought you could give. Appreciation, encouragement, love, wishes, prayers, an ear, a hand, a shoulder, a kidney. When you love someone, you don't stop to think what ifs. You just give. Today I cannot give a special person in my life a hug for her birthday and that makes me cry. It makes me sad. It eats me away sometimes that we have no family here. And unless you've experienced being many moons away, you have no idea how lucky you are to have the friends and family that you so desperately need in your life.

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The Power of Love Songs

A beautiful post written by Enrico Gala:

The Power of LOVE Songs, no matter how human and, therefore, imperfect and with limited scopes, can’t help but bear traces of divine love. It’s amazing that with some simple tunes and lyrics, they can make us fly to infinity, to eternity. This is simply because these love songs have GOD as their ultimate inspiration. GOD is LOVE, and anything related to love in our life somehow begins and ends with GOD. This is true even if we are not aware of this reality. These songs can be very dramatic. and we can easily excuse them when they exaggerated a little, or even a lot. They exercise tremendous power over us, generating a manifold of impulse that are all meaningful and satisfying to us.. 

Singing or humming them, or simply playing them in our mind or in our heart without sound, can evoke peace, joy, thrill, suspense, longing, hope, memories, tears, a smile , a reconciliation, reflections, an embrace, a kiss, etc.. etc.. This is the power of LOVE SONGS
With their melody, they easily arouse our senses, activate our emotions and passions. With their words and messages, they can crackle to life and intense activity our intelligence and heart. Before we know it, we become aware there’s something burning within us. We are brought to different worlds, go through the past, the present, and the future, made to consider various situations and precious lessons. If we are lucky, they can even lead us to GOD— as they should, in the end. 

There was one song that caught my attention immediately the melody struck me first, but it was the lyrics that hooked me to sing it. It goes like this “If it takes forever/ I will wait for you./ For a thousand summers / I will wait you.” That may sound corny to some, but to my innocent ears then, it gave me tremendous lessons. LOVE knows how to WAIT! The realization came with the wonder and surprise of a dicovery. Imagine the thrill….. Anybody knows or hear the songs entitled ” A THOUSAND YEARS.” 

The same idea is dramatized in a modern and secular way. Again the music first got me intrigued. It has a different and haunting beat. But the words are just marvelous. As people say, they are to die for. It goes: Like a Star @ heaven “A thousand years/ a thousand more/ a thousand times a million doors to eternity.” I find these words graphic enough of what is to WAIT. 

When one is INLOVE the distinction between a moment and an eternity dissolves. The idea is reiterated in finer nuances, making you flow in a beautiful stream of consciousmess. ” If it takes another thousand years/ a thousand wars/.. I could shed another million tears/ a million breaths/ ….A million suns/ ten million years of uncertainty…” All of these because, ” If there was a single truth/ a single light/ a single thought/ a singular touch of GRACE,” the truth is ” I’ve kept this single faith/ I have but one belief/ I STILL LOVE YOU/ I STILL WANT YOU.”
The song ends very powerfully: A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves/ like galaxies in my head/ On and on the mysteries unwind themselves/ eternities still unsaid ‘TILL YOU LOVE ME.

I MUST SAY THAT THE SONG HELPS ME TO PRAY. WHEN I CONSIDER THE WORDS, AND OF COURSE, WHEN I HEAR THE MELODY, I THINK OF HOW OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND ONE ANOTHER SHOULD BE.

I realize that GOD, whos is love and who loves us first before we know how to loves, precisely WAITS for us in TIME and in ETERNITY, willing to suffer whatever, if only we learn to love the way he loves us…….
LOVE BEARS, ENDURES AND CONQUERS ALL BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE …..  

A thousand years, a thousand more, 

A thousand times a million doors to eternity 

I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times

An endless turning stairway climbs 

To a tower of souls 

If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars, 

The towers rise to numberless floors in space

I could she'd another million tears, a million breaths,

A million names but only one truth to face

A million roads, a million fears

A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty 

I could speak a million lies, a million songs,

A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time

But if there was a single truth, a single light

A single thought, a singular touch of grace

Then following this single point , this single flame,

The single haunted memory of your face 

I still love you 

I still want you

A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves 

Like galaxies in my head

I may be numberless, I may be innocent 

I may know many things, I may be ignorant 

Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands

Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands 

I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times 

Reborn as fortune's child to judge another's crimes 

Or wear this pilgrim's cloak, or be a common thief 

I've kept this single faith, I have but one belief

I still love you 

I still want you

A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves 

Like galaxies in my head

On and on the mysteries unwind themselves 

Eternities still unsaid 

'Til you love me

Love in the gLovebox ~ an ongoing story

The following was written by my friend Heatherlyn. It is the most wonderful idea and I hope you think so too!


Magnets. Whether you've passed the time with one of those desk top "toys" or as a kid learned about the positive and negative sides of magnets, you've likely stacked magnets, felt the force of them sticking to or repelling each other.

Sometimes I feel like a magnet. When I encounter others, sometimes the sides of us facing each other make it super easy and even fun to connect. Sometimes, the sides of myself and another facing each other - even though we are essentially made of the same substance - cause us to experience a repelling. We feel awkward or weird.

One of those moments for me has been at traffic light intersections. You know the scene: a red light, you stop and there's a tired-looking person standing at the corner with a cardboard sign. My head spins in moments like these. I feel like I want to respond but I don't know how. I want to look since there's a human being standing there, reaching out. They may be reaching out in a really socially unacceptable way, but they are reaching out - so I want to look their way, but I avoid eye contact. I don't have loose change. I'm not sure that would help anyway. I don't know this person and I don't want to judge, but I'm not sure I want to entrust them with a gift of cash. All these thoughts and feelings surface and finally, (deep breath) the light changes to green. I can go on my way, perhaps say a prayer for the person standing there. But I resign myself to feeling that there's nothing I can do, and in a few minutes, I'll be on to my next task and it won't be hard for me to forget.

My husband and I have a group of friends who asked the question: "What if we were ready for these unexpected encounters at the intersection?" So we have gathered together with packages of warm socks, boxes of granola cars, hats, even hand warmers and meal dollars for a particular food venue. We put all this on a table and take one of each to put in a big zip lock bag, assembling what we call "Love in the gLovebox bundles".

Last week, Jason, my husband, and I had a meeting in downtown Saint Paul. There was a gentleman standing at the intersection of 35 E and Grand Ave. He held a cardboard sign indicating he was a veteran and in need. I handed Jason one of the gLOVEbox bundles we had prepared in community just a couple weeks earlier. He rolled down his window, passed it to the gentlemen on the corner and simply said, “Peace, Man.” It was remarkable at how ready he was to receive when he had no idea what Jason was handing him. I looked back and he was smiling and turning the bag over and over, seeing what little precious gifts were just given him. I pray he is safe, warm, loved and loving always. I don't know how that small gift impacted him, but I know it changed me. To be able to not pass him by. To be able to look at him unafraid. To connect with this human being and not experience that repelling impression - if even for a moment - was so powerful. It is changing my heart and my eyes.

This weekend (Nov 21st), in Duluth I shared a bit of this story with a set

of songs, such as Wayfaring Stranger (the spiritual), Invitation to the Unlikely and Be the Love. (Click on the song titles to view the youtube videos.) Afterward, a gentlemen approach Jason and myself with tears welling up in his eyes and he thanked us. He said, "I'm someone who has been there at the street corner; ...you want to know how that man was impacted? ...you showed him care in an uncaring world. You showed him dignity. Thank you for doing that." He apologized for hardly being able to keep it together. He was so deeply moved. We thanked him for sharing.

There are so many small ways we can intentionally live kindness, to be compassion, to be love. Even if we don't share all of life with another, we do share our humanity and we share the earth we live upon. Love in the gLovebox is just one simple way our group of friends has discovered helps us turn a little so the side facing another is the magnetic connection side. Maybe when the most unlikely pairs can stick together, maybe then we can build strong and genuine communities.

Perfect Love

From the James Allen Library:


The Children of Light, who abide in the Kingdom of Heaven, see the universe, and all that it contains, as the manifestation of one Law - the Law of Love. They see Love as the molding, sustaining, protecting, and perfecting Power immanent in all things animate and inanimate. To them Love is not merely and only a rule of life, it is the Law of Life, it is Life itself. 


Knowing this, they order their whole life in accordance with Love, not regarding their own personality. By thus practicing obedience to the Highest, to divine Love, they become conscious partakers of the power of Love, and so arrive at perfect Freedom as Masters of Destiny.

The universe is preserved because Love is at the Heart of it. Love is the only preservative power. Whilst there is hatred in the heart of man, he imagines the Law to be cruel, but when his heart is mellowed by Compassion and Love, he perceives that the Law is Infinite Kindness. 


So kind is the Law that it protects man against his own ignorance, Man, in his puny efforts to subvert the Law by attaching undue importance to his own little personality, brings upon himself such trains of suffering that he is at last compelled, in the depth of his afflictions, to seek for Wisdom; and finding Wisdom, he finds Love, and knows it as the Law of his being, the Law of the universe. 


Love does not punish; man punishes himself by his own hatred; by striving to preserve evil which has no life by which to preserve itself, and by trying to subvert Love, which can neither be overcome nor destroyed, being of the substance of Life. When a man burns himself, does he accuse the fire? Therefore, when a man suffers, let him look for some ignorance or disobedience within himself.

Love is Perfect Harmony, pure Bliss, and contains, therefore, no element of suffering. Let a man think no thought and do no act which is not in accordance with pure Love, and suffering shall no more trouble him. If a man would know Love, and partake of its undying bliss, he must practice it in his heart; he must become Love.

He who always acts from the spirit of Love is never deserted, is never left in a dilemma or difficulty, for Love (impersonal Love) is both Knowledge and Power. He who has learned how to Love has learned how to master every difficulty, how to transmute every failure into success, how to clothe every event and condition in garments of blessedness and beauty.

The way to Love is by self-mastery, and, traveling that way, a man builds himself up in Knowledge as he proceeds. Arriving at Love, he enters into full possession of body and mind, by right of the divine Power which he has earned.

"Perfect Love casteth out fear." To know Love is to know that there is no harmful power in the whole Universe. Even sin itself, which the worldly and unbelieving imagine is so unconquerable, is known as a very weak and perishable thing, that shrinks away and disappears before the compelling power of Good. Perfect Love is perfect Harmlessness. And he who has destroyed, in himself, all thoughts of harm, and all desire to harm, receives the universal protection, and knows himself to be invincible.

Perfect Love is perfect Patience. Anger and irritability cannot dwell with it nor come near it. It sweetens every bitter occasion with the perfume of holiness, and transmutes trial into divine strength. Complaint is foreign to it. He who loves bewails nothing, but accepts all things and conditions as heavenly guests; he is therefore constantly blessed, and sorrow does not overtake him.

Perfect Love is perfect Trust. He who has destroyed the desire to grasp can never be troubled with the fear of loss. Loss and gain are alike foreign to him. Steadfastly maintaining a loving attitude of mind toward all, and pursuing, in the performance of his duties, a constant and loving activity, Love protects him and evermore supplies him in fullest measure with all that he needs.

Perfect Love is perfect Power. The wisely loving heart commands without exercising any authority. All things and all men obey him who obeys the Highest. He thinks, and lo! he has already accomplished! He speaks, and behold! a world hangs upon his simple utterances! He has harmonized his thoughts with the Imperishable and Unconquerable Forces, and for him weakness and uncertainty are no more. His every thought is a purpose; his every act an accomplishment; he moves with the Great Law, not setting his puny personal will against it, and he thus becomes a channel through which the Divine Power can flow in unimpeded and beneficent expression. He has thus become Power itself.

Perfect Love is perfect Wisdom. The man who loves all is the man who knows all. Having thoroughly learned the lessons of his own heart, he knows the tasks and trials of other hearts, and adapts himself to them gently and without ostentation. Love illuminates the intellect; without it the intellect is blind and cold and lifeless. Love succeeds where the intellect fails; sees where the intellect is blind; knows where the intellect is ignorant, Reason is only completed in Love, and is ultimately absorbed in it. Love is the Supreme Reality in the universe, and as such it contains all Truth. Infinite Tenderness enfolds and cherishes the universe; therefore is the wise man gentle and childlike and tender-hearted. He sees that the one thing which all creatures need is Love, and he gives unstintingly. He knows that all occasions require the adjusting power of Love, and he ceases from harshness.

To the eye of Love all things are revealed, not as an infinity of complex effects, but in the light of Eternal Principles, out of which spring all causes and effects, and back into which they return. "God is Love;" therefore than Love there is nothing more perfect. He who would find pure Knowledge let him find pure Love.

Perfect Love is perfect Peace. He who dwells with it has completed his pilgrimage in the underworld of sorrow. With mind calm and heart at rest, he has banished the shadows of grief, and knows the deathless Life.

If thou wouldst perfect thyself in Knowledge, perfect thyself in Love. If thou wouldst reach the Highest, ceaselessly cultivate a loving and compassionate heart.

Astounding Stories of Love and Creativity

Astounding Stories of Love and Creativity:

Love can fuel creativity for so many reasons, creativity may appear because of wanting to impress someone or simply because you want to express the emotions running through your life. When in love and all the things around you can be a source of inspiration, from the food you eat to the things you rarely notice, clearly a new sense of awareness will appear that will help you achieve the best you want. Through the course of history many artists have created great artworks because of love.

Image by: Billy Alexander

POSITIVE EFFECT ON CREATIVITY

We are talking about romantic and familial love.

• Heightened sense of awareness, makes you feel active and you always want to do something for the world to see.
• The sense of wanting to inspire others too, the feeling that everything will be just fine.
• You feel awesome, and when you feel awesome you do awesome things!
• Love alters our thoughts

Do an experiment, when you feel bad or any negative thoughts cloud your thinking try wrapping a gift with fancy gift wrappers. Can you? But when you’re in love, in a very good mood, your thought process is so diverse that instead of using a cheap wrapper you may even create your own wrapper just to make people feel loved.

Image by: Michaela Kobyakov

In Japan, during Valentine’s Day, women give chocolates to men who they adore. But it’s not the type of chocolate we gentlemen give to them. What Japanese women usually do is cook and design their own chocolates, trying to make it look best for their man. Isn’t that sweet?

Of course you shouldn’t just believe in everything people say, many get their heart broken for believing in everything that is said. Below are examples of how love gave birth to the most creative things we now see today. If you know things like these please feel free to comment and I’ll add them on our list!

PROOF #1: THE TAJ MAHAL

For those who do not know, Taj Mahal is a tomb for Shah Jahan‘s wife. It took around 23 years to finish this marvelous construction, now famous all over the globe. It is said that Shah Jahan hid himself from the public because of his grief.

Incidentally, the Filipino term for Love is Mahal.

Image by: Vivek Chugh

PROOF #2: NYGIRLOFMYDREAMS.COM

Believe it or not love at first sight indeed works, it will turn every nook and cranny of not only your home but of an entire metropolis just to find that woman in the train station. I’m talking about a man who creatively asked the whole of New York to help him find the woman of his dreams whose name and phone number he was not able to get. How many millions of people are there in New York? Through creative and flashy thinking he asked millions through his website. It didn’t took long for someone to find the woman of his dreams, and they dated.

When I was in college I attended a conference about how to properly dress for a company interview for fresh graduates. There were two guest speakers and one of them was this pretty lady whose topic is about how to impress. She began her talk by asking “do you believe in love at first sight?” an acquaintance of mine wittily shouted from the back rows “just now!” and the guest speaker blushed. Just sharing. *laughs*

PROOF #3: SHAKESPEARE

If you know someone named Romeo chances are you have already asked him “where’s Juliet?”. Romeo and Juliet, the most famous love story which has been repeated throughout various theaters, never fails to make us realize how love can boost our powers or can make us off-guard.

On Shakespeare’s sonnets, it doesn’t really matter if you do or do not understand them in one sitting, what matters is you can’t write one if you’re not in an extremely good mood: in love.

Image by: Ralu Home

PROOF #4: SAMSTONES

“Sam was a boy who loved and played for 14 years in Richmond, Vermont. SamStones are made with love by Sam’s friends and family. Our intent with these stones is to pass on some of that love. If you have found a SamStone please feel free to keep it, move it or pass it on. We hope that you will pause and feel the love that is being passed on to you.”

Passing love to people through stones is something I will surely do. That’s why I have 9, one already placed on a perfect spot . Got them at SamStones.org. Spread SamLove through SamStones!

Another thing that you can benefit from love is that you actually can see things in a different manner, you will have a different reality. People who are in love can fearlessly express themselves, and that entails expressing it in every media possible.

It is easy to notice when people are in love (or those who feel loved) based on the way they speak, walk, move, and changes in their crafts too. If you are one of the fortunate people who have been, and are still, in love, don’t you notice how bright things are? Suddenly you see things in a brighter way, like there’s a flashlight/torch on your eyes and everything you look at becomes vivid. In relation to designing, designers who know this feeling are usually the ones who make people spell wow on their faces, these are the designers who craft super cool arts that even the audience can feel the emotions involved in the creation of the art.

Christmas Love

From Sworn to Secrecy:

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful  experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations — extensive card writing,  endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted,unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

  
 My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season
 for a six-year-old. For weeks, he’d been memorizing songs for his school’s “Winter Pageant.”
  
 I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d be working the night of the production. 
 Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured
 me there’d be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents
 unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas
 seemed happy with the compromise.
 

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
 

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday
as Christmas,” I didn’t expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son’s class rose to sing, “Christmas Love,” I was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens,red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row-center stage — held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.  As the class would sing “C is for Christmas,” a child would hold up the letter C. Then, “H is for Happy,” and on and on, until each child holding up hisportion had presented the complete message, “Christmas Love.”

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter “M” upside down — totally unaware her letter “M” appeared as a “W.”  The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one’s mistake.  But she had no idea they were laughing at her,so she stood tall, proudly holding her “W.” Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place,
why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. 

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

“C H R I S T W A S L O V E” 

And, I believe, He still is.

Amazed in His presence…
Humbled by His love.

May each of you have a Merry Christmas as you reflect on His Amazing Love for us…

Have a blessed day!   Happy Birthday, Jesus !!!!!!

Love Don't Cost a Thing

The following post was written by Lindsay at the wonderful blog, Confessions of a Love Addict:

For whatever reason, since the time I was a little girl, I’ve had a knack for people giving me things for free. In fact, my mom always says “People are drawn to you and want to give you whatever you want. You’re the Queen of Free!”

Maybe that’s true, or maybe I’m just lucky? Nevertheless, growing up, I’d walk into a store with my family and some employee or owner would hand me a stuffed animal, just because. As I got older, I was freely awarded with half-off dinner for no reason, free goods, and of course, once I was legal – free drinks.

And, being a journalist – I’m constantly sent different items to review for coverage. From high-end beauty products and at-home soda making machines to office supplies and my personal favorite – attendance at some expensive, snazzy events that I wouldn’t be able to go to otherwise, one of the reasons we accept being severely underpaid is for the perks.

Recently, to celebrate my royalties, a new great friend of mine, C, and I went to a fundraiser benefit for an animal shelter. Their marketing was excellent: free booze and puppies to greet you at the door. I mean, what woman couldn’t say no to that? (Or man for the matter?)

We arrive in the meatpacking district, decked out in heels and sparkle – and to our incredible surprise, we ordered a glass of Merlot and within seconds, an adorable puppy was in our hands. Needless to say, we were both in alcohol andadorable- induced heaven.

An hour later when the puppies reached their bedtime, they cranked up themusic, and introduced a dance floor for the rest of the four-hour open bar. C and I did our rounds around the club, chatted with men from all over the world – which included South Africa, Detroit, Spain, and Rochester. We danced the night away with an array of talented dudes, including someone I’d like to call Mr. Moves, who while is far from my type, was thoroughly entertaining for the evening. We snapped pictures that even landed on a local New York website and consumed just enough wine to keep us warm and giggly.

As the evening came to a close, around two in the morning, we hobbled out of the club into the cold rain – and as expected, I sniffed some great smelling food coming from a food vendor and I managed to get a group of guys to buy both C and I munchies before we caught the train home. I believe we blew them a kiss as we disappeared into the New York night.

On the way back to my apartment, where my bed was calling my name (and a lovely air mattress for C) – I found myself singing on the train, happily satisfied with the evening I had, and more than ready to have an easy night’s rest.

The next day, after C and I laughed endlessly about the fun event, recounted stories, and appropriately downed orange juice and Advil – I thought about howso much of what I love the most…is free.

Sure, I may be given tangible things, like tickets to events, products, and food – but nothing compares to shakin’ it with a good friend or being able to laugh like little girls into the night because the Merlot made you feel merry. Or the feeling when I’m walking through the city, knowing that a moment’s notice – I could be in Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Central Park, the West Village, or Soho.

And admittedly, when Mr. Possibility kisses the side of my head as we walk (not hand-in-hand) through little shops and pop-up craft fairs. Even though we desire it so much, hope that it is meant for us, and feel like it cost us everything if we lose it – J.Lo is right, love don’t cost a thing. Not just romantically-inclined love, but the love you have between girlfriends, between your family members, between your city and yourself. And though we worry about giving our love away freely – there is no other way to present it.

While receiving goodies for free always makes my day (having a package in front of my door still excites me like a child) – what makes it even more is feeling that immense love in my soul. Feeling my heart swell up with so much cheerfulness, so much thanksgiving, so much wonder – that no material thing on this Earth could compare.

Being the Queen of Free is fine by me, but I think I’d rather call myself the Queen of Love, who has the freedom to love everything around her, man or no man, Dior or no Dior – and still be absolutely happy.