A Reminder Call

Lately, I've pondered the difference between special, conditional love versus inclusive, unconditional love.

Special love is attached to particulars, like certain people, animals, objects and places in our lives. It's a love that is selective based on a judgment about who and what is worthy of our love and attention.

Inclusive love is all-embracing, and is not something we do, but rather extends naturally from our heart and soul. 

Here's a short story that can be seen as a metaphor and invitation to let go of special love.

My husband and I are tea-drinkers, and I had my favorite tea-cup, a fine porcelain cup with just the "right" size and thinness. It was adorned with a rose-colored flower painting inspired by Van Gogh's Irises.

While doing dishes, my husband accidentally broke it and insisted on buying me a new one. After a little pushing, I said "yes".  Soon, I was the happy owner of a new "special cup, decorated with the same art-work, in green and blue colors.

I enjoyed it very much, only to have it suffering the same fate as the previous cup by my own hands while doing dishes. Although disappointed, I decided that the content, the actual tea, was much more important than the container itself. Think spirit/awareness as your content, and the body as the container. 

Now, I still had a "special" glass which I used, mainly for water. This glass had endured countless dishwashing experiences without harm. It was tall and slender, just the right height and width and the only of its kind in our place. One fall day, I did a sweeping motion with my right hand and accidentally knocked it over. Nothing was going to save it from a fatal encounter with the floor.

After the loss of two "special" cups and a "special" glass in a short period of time, it hit me that I could see it all as a reminder-call from the universe. A phrase from A course of Love, which I had pondered just days before, came to mind:

In your world love has no meaning unless it is attached to a particular thing. And as soon as love is attached to a particular, love's opposite is brought into existence. ~ ACOL, C:14.30

In A Course of Love,  channeled wisdom, this phrase is followed by an invitation to love all the same, which makes me think of how the sun shines equally on all. The sun simply extends its rays to everyone and everything. 

In the same way that clouds temporarily hide this source of light form us, our confused and judgmental thinking can create barriers to the love that we are. As we work on undoing our identification with the ego's insane thoughts by bringing them to the light of awareness....grievances, judgments, and fearful thoughts start to lift.

Each one of your brothers and sisters is a holy as I and as beloved to God.

Can you not witness to their belovedness as those long ago witnessed to mine?

You have not been able to do this thus far 

because you have desired specialness for yourself and a few others

rather than belovedness for all.

But now, perhaps, you are ready.

~ Jesus, A Course of Love

Our work is to notice, pause, allow and forgive arising mental and emotional patterns that are linked to the thought that some are more or less deserving of love. Our job is to welcome into the light of awareness, any old programming linked to special love and special hate. And then be willing to forgive and let it go. In this way, we become less confused and more ready to desire "belovedness for all."

Warmly,

Tone-Lise