It is difficult to realize actually how desperately we do need love.

"One of the deepest longings in the human heart is the desire to be loved for yourself alone. This longing awakens you completely. When you are touched by love, it reaches down into your deepest fibre. It is difficult to realize actually how desperately we do need love. It is difficult to love yourself, if you are not first loved. When you are loved, your heart rushes forth in the joy of the dance of life. Like someone who has been lost for years in a forgotten place, you rejoice in being found. When you are discovered, you then discover yourself. This infuses your whole life with new vigour and light. Love awakens the youthfulness of the heart. You discover your creative force. It is quite touching to see love bring someone home so swiftly to herself."

John O'Donohue

I love the honesty of these words. They reveal how much we are needed to love others in order to help the Divine awaken them to their own lovability. A person, of course, cannot be the ultimate lover or beloved. The spiritual journey is the search for the true Beloved - the Divine, however we may define It. In my own case, that ultimate Divine Lover and Beloved is found primarily in meditation and in Nature.
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Photo: Ice formations on Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, January 23, 2016

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