All About Love in English

Thirteen DESTINY: WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone-we fin d it with another. - THOMA SMERTON

Twelve HEALING: REDEMPTIVE LOVE We have been brought into the inner wine cellar and sealed with His seal, which is to suffer out of love. The ardor of this love greatly outweighs any suffering we may undergo, for suffering comes to an end, but love is forever. - TESSA BIEL ECKI

Eleven LOSS: LOVING INTO LIFE AND DEATH You have to trust that every frie ndship has no end, that a communion of saints exists among all those, living and dead, who have truly loved God and one another. You know from experience how real this is. Those you have loved deeply and who have died live on in you, not just as memories but as real presences. - HENRI NOUWEN

Ten ROMANCE: SWEET LOVE Sweet Love say Where, how and when What do YO Ll want of me? .. Y OLlrs [ am, for Y OLl I was born: What do YOLl wa nt of me ? . . -SAINT TERESA OF AVILA

Nine MUTUALITY: THE HEART OF LOVE True giving is a thoroughly joyous thing to do. We experience happiness when we form the intention to give, in the actual act of giving, and in the recollection of the fact that we have given. Generosity is a cele- bration. When we give something to someone we feel connected to them, and our commitment to the path of peace and awareness deepens. - S HA RON SALZ BE RG

Eight COMMUNITY: LOVING COMMUNION Community cannot take root in a divided life. Long before community assumes external shape and form, it must be present as a seed in the undivided self: only as we are in communion with ourselves can we find community with others. - PARK ER PA LMER

Seven GREED: SIMPLY LOVE The fading away of greed and hatred is the founda- tion fo r liberation. Liberation is "the sure heart's re lease" -an understanding of the truth so powerful that there is no turning back from it. -SHARON SA LZBE RG

Six VALUES: LIVING BY A LOVE ETHIC We must live for the day, and work for the day, when human society realigns itself with the radical love of God. In a truly democratic paradigm, there is no Jove of power for power's sake. - MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

Fi ve SPIRITUALITY: DIVINE LOVE As a woman and a lover, however, I am moved by the sight of my Beloved. Where He is, I want to be. What He suffers, I want to share. Who He is, I want to be: crucified for love. - SAINT TERESA OF AVILA

Four COMMITMENT: LET LOVE BE LOVE IN ME Commitment is inherent in any genuinely loving re- lationship. Anyone who is truly concerned for the spiritual growth of another knows, consciously or in- stinctively, that he or she can significantly foster that growth only through a relationship of constancy. - M. SCOTT PECK

Three HONESTY: BE TRUE TO LOVE When we reveal ourselves to our partner and find that this brings healing rather than harm, we make an im- portant discovery-that intimate relationship can provide a sanctuary from the world of facades, a sa- cred space where we can be ourselves, as we are .. . . This kind of unmasking-speaking our truth, sharing our inner struggles, and revealing our raw edges- is sacred activity, which allows two souls to meet and touch more deeply. - JOHN WELWOOD

Two JUSTICE: CHILDHOOD LOVE LESSONS Severe separations in early life leave emotional scars on the brain because they assault the essential human connection: The [parent-child] bond which teaches us that we are lovable. The [parent-child] bond which teaches us how to love. We cannot be whole human beings- indeed, we may find it hard to be human- without the sustenance of this first attachment. - JUDITH VIORST

One CLARITY: GIVE LOVE WORDS As a society we are embarrassed by love. We treat it as if it were an obscenity. We reluctantly admit to it. Even saying the word makes us stumble and blush ... Love is the most important thing in our lives, a pas- sion for which we would fight or die, and yet we're reluctant to linger over its names. Without a supple vocabulary, we can't even talk or think about it directly. - DIANE ACKERMAN

Introduction GRACE: TOUCHED BY LOVE It is possible to speak with our heart directly. Most ancient cultures know this. We can actually converse with our heart as if it were a good friend. In modern life we have become so busy with our daily affairs and thoughts that we have lost this essential art of taking time to converse with our heart. - JACK KORNFIELD