ZenView
By Mary Layton
Power Or Love?
Recently I was talking to an old friend who lives in Germany. She was sharing that she was dealing with an illness and I was telling her about a fender bender. I was quite upset about the small damage on my car. What is it that makes you so strong in the midst of dealing with a serious illness? I wanted to know.
Here is what she told me. “There are two forces in the world, there is Power which often brings destruction and darkness. And there is Love. I decided to choose Love.”
Ever since this conversation I have been pondering about these two major forces, Power and Love. I realize that I am not nearly as loving as I like to be. Impatience can get the best of me and makes me critical and numb to what may be going on with others. Wanting to feel powerful I act and react too fast for my own good. This causes accidents and injuries. It may be better to accept my powerlessness. Actual power is an illusion.
The facade of power can make us lose our way and connection to ourselves and other people.
Choosing the path of love on the other hand, is a willingness to go the extra mile. To sacrifice, to be tolerant, to be honest and to show understanding even for adversaries, to compromise. To stop going to war with myself because of a mistake I made, to forgive myself. In a recent interview with Ziggy Marley in Extraordinary Health Magazine Ziggy says, “I am so confident …that if love gets a chance, it will transform the community and the world into a more prosperous place, because we are capable of love.”
What will I chose today?
Nowadays, as we navigate an increasingly complicated and challenging world, I find myself frustrated and irritable at times. I am sure I am not the only one. Staying home a lot more than before I can’t get away from the uncomfortable truth that much of my anguish lies in my own attitude. I cannot expect harmony and love to be handed to me. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson : “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” Here’s to Love!
For more info you can go to taichi4modesto.com or call (209)572-4518
