There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. - George Sand
When I feel sad and I eat too much of the wrong kind of foods, I am trying (without success) to fill my hunger for love. Gabor Mate writes of addiction as the hungry ghost, always seeking more, never finding enough, always empty. I do have people who love me in my life. I have a cat who adores me.
When I meditate on loving kindness, I practice sending love to all sentient beings. I remember feeling startled to realize that somewhere someone else was also doing the same practice and sending love to all sentient beings, including me!
May all sentient beings be free from inner and outer harm.
May all sentient beings be free of mental suffering or distress.
May all sentient beings be happy.
May all sentient beings be free of physical pain and suffering.
May all sentient beings be healthy and strong.
May all sentient beings be able to live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully, with ease.
This meditation, or metta, teaches compassion. We start with our self, then someone we love, someone who upsets us, and finally all beings.
When I don't feel loved, I can remember that I love and this is enough -- for in loving, I am loved in return. It may not be the romantic, intimate love I crave but it is love. As the For Today reader says this morning, "To love and feel loved is nothing less than to have a reverence for life."
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