I’ve been away from writing for awhile. Traveling around the world twice in a month has been full on – amazing, a lot to be grateful for, and a lot to reflect on.  What has shown up as the underlying theme of this month is LOVE.

I just got back from my weekend retreat to Piemonte, Italy.  This weekend we dove into the idea of Love as the motivator and the activator in our lives.  I have been skirting around this for some time now, whether reflecting on how I can be an agent of change, or what it means to be of service.  Then, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, I had one of the most beautiful conversations.  And it suddenly was so simple. Not easy, necessarily, but simple.  Love.

What is love then? Pure, unconditional love? This is our connection to our source. It is our direct line of access.  It was what we are created out of, and it is what we can tap into to remember ourselves as this piece of the great source of love.  And if we distill it down to this simple word, our only task is to learn to become that channel through which the love may flow to others.

Is it crazy and naive to believe that the solution to all problems is love? I know it sounds too simplistic, but every layer of complexity that we find is a veil between us and the purest form of love.  It is an ego layer on one level or another. If we were to be able to come to each conflict or challenge remembering that we come from unconditional love, and with an intention to give from that source, what would it look like?  What would each task, each interaction in our day look like? The spirit with which we take on even the most mundane of jobs would be infused with an energy of light and of love, and would become not just a task done, but a service done.  Because the way in which we perform our work, and the way in which we treat each person can be intentional and an act of giving, of service.  Imagine the care that would exist in this world if we all gave this a shot? Imagine the ways in which our lives would be beautified by others and by ourselves.

When all is said and done though, this mandate is hard.  It’s hard because ego tells us that we should be getting something, that others need to do or give to us. We turn love into a transaction, and any unfair exchange leaves us with resentment and bitterness.  Instead of being willing to continue to pour love out to others we become stingy with our own giving, as though if we somehow hold onto it we will remain full.  But the truth is, that love wants to flow, and when we hold back and hold it in, when we refuse to give, it is like stagnating a roaring river, and the potency of it is lost.  The power of love comes in the giving, not the receiving.  And ironically, when we give, we get it back.  As we “empty”, so we are refilled from the eternal and unconditional source.

So when you think your resources are done, and when you believe you have nothing left to give, give some more and see what happens.  Love is no transaction, love is love is LOVE.