Love:

Love is a multi-faceted concept we as humans are ever trying to
understand and express. In our society the concept of love is often
limited to images of romance and sexual expression. We tend to
focus our ideas of "true" love around the phenomenon of "soul mates"
or "love at first sight", and rarely depict the multi-faceted
aspects of the concept of love. Love entails so much more than we
often realize. It is a combination of so many powerful aspects of
human nature, and isn't easily defined or labeled as it changes and
evolves constantly, just as we do.

It is a popular misconception that we must find things or another
person to complete or fulfill us. The truth is the greatest love
comes from within, it is a choice in any given moment, and not a
condition that has to be acquired, achieved, or manipulated. If we
feel we must be loved by others to be whole, then we will never feel
complete. Only self-love and all that it entails can provide
this. At any time we can choose the many necessary components of
this thing we label "love" : acceptance, respect, compassion,
nurturing. All of these qualities and many more, are what make us
whole when we first learn to give them to ourselves, otherwise we
cannot possibly give them fully to others. How can one give what
one doesn't already have? Love is most powerful when it radiates
and overflows from within, than when a concept of it is projected
outwards. When we work on consciously manifesting love at it's
deepest levels, we find more serenity, a deeper bond with all that
is. The result becomes the deepest kind of joy and prosperity.

Today's Exercise:

Focus on all of the components of love. Really look at this
concept. What does love mean to you? Many find this hard to answer
completely. Identify what you feel is necessary to experience love
more fully? When you think of the concept of love what are all the
thoughts and feelings that come up? What can you do to internalize
this concept and cultivate more love within?