eros, phillia and agape >love love love
LOVE
Yes its all around, it permeates and transcends, it shows us pain and it heals it.
Love is beautiful, yet I would venture to guess, that most of us don’t know what to do with it, nor do we understand its magnitude. As always, I speak for myself, yet in my observations, and conversations with others, love seems to leave people in a confused state, and there is so much fear in the world, that it is kind of difficult to let love touch the heart fully.
Our early philosophers put love into context as an attempt to explain what love is and what love means, and while it is helpful to some extent, it makes me laugh, because we humans totally get off on making sense out of things, especially things that cannot be put into a box.
Eros> This is what we experience when we meet a potential lover, or someone we like a lot. We are totally exctied, inspired, and filled with desire and longing, though sex or romance is not a necessary component here, it could simply be that there are deeper feelings than that of a friend or. There is a potential for growth, and when the initial feelings of insatiable longing go away, there is a possibility for richer experience in the relationship where one sees the deeper beauty of the other. Once the initial attraction is gone however, one could realize that there is nothing deeper that they can or wish to see, and hence move on to something or someone else.
Phillia>In modern Greek, this means friendship. This implies a mutual respect and fondness exchanged between people. There is a sense of honor and equal exchange of energy, enjoyment or experience.
Agape> Means “I LOVE” it is an expression rather than an attraction. The essence of this love is of selfless giving without expectation of something in return. It is devotion.
There is so much written on love. The bible has many beautiful teachings on love and, the Bagavad Gita’s key teaching is love.
God is love.
Though as I implied eariler we, with all of our constructs find it so difficult to let love in, to really let it permeate. This is especially true when it comes to being intimate with others, and in particular, to a lover.
The heart is tender and vulnerable, even in its strength, and more times than not fear seems to take over and dominate, disallowing love to touch it. Most of this happens unconsciously, though even when you are conscious, the fears are sneaky and come in many forms. It takes willingness to face these fears, and let love in, because the love is everywhere.
I MEAN EVERYWHERE! It just does not demand that you accept it or give it or see it. Like any other energy form though, it grows with attention and intention, so the choice is yours, and mine too.
We could certainly use more love in this world, that is for sure.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Arline, i know this isn’t going to help with what you’re wrestling with today, and what’s more I know you already know this… but you must seek to be the love in the world you are missing.
No one knows better than I do the ache, or the longing which love can bring. It’s the subject of so much poetry, music, art, even wars with out end… but I suspect that what the human race is collectively moaning about isn’t love at all.
It’s one thing to long for connection…
Look around you in the world, listen to the whisper of the breeze through the leaves in the trees, an inside joke, everyone is laughing with you, together in their unique, and beautiful snicker.
You are such a powerful woman, so bright and strong, and yet so tender and so many things.
Let go.
Be the love you are aching for.
Heal your heart mama. We need you.
* hug *
October 11th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Thank you Sunshine love!!!!!!!!!!!