LOVE WORKS DAILY 02/09/07 - Surprise

LOVE WORKS DAILY 02/09/07 - Surprise

Hello Friends! I hope today finds you happy and well
and filled with the infinity that is love and the
capacity to give and receive it freely today!

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INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT:
(Great Thoughts By History's Inspired Thinking Men and Women)

Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and
 praise--then you will
discover the fullness of your life.

- Brother David Steindl-Rast

TIM's BLOG
(Random Thoughts and Tim's Daily World):

Well we've come upon another friday.  It has been warm and
rainy here and melting the snow and making a huge mud mess.
Not fun.  We are thinking we are going to need to bring our
vehicles up away from the house at the next big freeze, so
that they will not get stuck.

I wrote last year how many times I got stuck in the snow and
mud...this year we've yet to get stuck (knock on wood), and
I am hoping to continue the trend.

Well, not much new to report.  Tomorrow my wife helps with
a Valentines Breakfast..and we do some turoring at
the library...Otherwise,  a pretty uneventful weekend.

Happiness and love to all!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
(Brand New and Classic Love Works Essays 2001-2007)

What I liked most about the above quote is...BE SURPRISED!

But I don't think I had a grasp of it's meaning at first, maybe I still
don't, what do you think?

To be loved, it seems, you have to both offer love, and be willing
to accept it, and do it with GUSTO. You have to be willing and able to
"BE THERE" I think that that is what is meant by LOVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY.
I think I got that part.

But does the above quote mean, when we LOVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY and we
receive love back we should be surprised, give thanks and praise?

I was speaking to someone close to me recently, and they said that they
had only really "felt loved" by one person in their whole life.
They knew (theoretically) that others had and did love them, but they
had only really "knew it for sure" one time. And they would be
"surprised" if someone ever loved them again. They sure were "thankful"
for that one person.

Is that what the quote means?

That seemed awfully codependent to me.

I think that's how we often do it, though. We wait for a sign that we
are loved. If we get one, we are surprised, and then give tons of thank
you's and credit to those who did something nice or said something nice.
We don't think that we "deserve" to be loved, so the love was a gift,
and we are grateful.   We don't BELIEVE that we continue to be loved,
so we expect repeated "proof" that we are. When the "proofs" stop
coming, we MUST no longer be loved.

Our feeling of being LOVED, depends on the actions, words and even
thoughts of others.

....is that it?

So I reread it.....

Love wholeheartedly, THEN be surprised, THEN give thanks and praise--AND
THEN you will discover the fullness of your life.

Yep, that's what it must mean.

but subconsciously.....I think I added a bunch of contingencies. Didn't
I? I added a bunch of extra "THEN's".

It actually reads.....

Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise--then you will
discover the fullness of your life.

OK OK...so they do not depend on each other.

They are three seperate things!!!!

It's advice to do all of these things in no particular order to discover
fullness in your live.

It seems to mean love wholeheartedly all the time. Be sincere in the
offering and accepting of love. Don't be stingy with your love, nor
reluctant to accept it. Just DO LOVE, and do it BIG TIME. Put you
whole heart into it.

Second, be SURPRISED with life from moment to moment. Don't get stuck
in a rut, or take things for granted. Look closely enough to really
SEE, HEAR, TOUCH, SMELL and overall FEEL all the little things that
happen around you. Don't be an unreasonable
optimist about everything, nor a stone cold pessimist. Take time every
day to discover something and BE SURPRISED!

And THIRD, never forget to offer praise and give thanks. Not because
you don't feel worthy to receive....but because you are grateful for the
opportunity to experience this moment, this day, this person.
It's easy to walk by a flower or a tree or a frog or a person, and just
walk on by. It seems that even thoughts in our mind such as,
"I sure am thankful for this moment, I sure appreciate what YOU bring
to my life, I am so glad I have all these plants and animal and people
in my life" help us to keep a proper perspective.

So all three...LOVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY....BE SURPRISED...AND BE THANKFUL...
are really about not taking life for granted.

It's not advice to let life ROLL OVER US and for us to be thankful for
what ever comes our way.

It just might be advice to GRAB A HOLD of life, and engage it.
Do life in an ACTIVE rather than passive way. Be sincere.
Delight in our new discoveries. And appreciate our place amongst
all things.

Make every experience be a FULL experience.

Breathe it in!!!

Pass it on!

 

Love In Thought! Love In Word! Love In Action!

Love To You Today!

 

"May we endeavor today to increase our understanding and appreciation of
what others have given and contributed to us. And develop constant,
mindful consideration of how our thoughts and actions will BENIFICIALLY
CONTRIBUTE to others"

The best to you today in discovering the answers to life's difficult
questions!

 

A Final Thought:

Love is always the right thing to do. Even if it isn't the easiest
thing to do.

May we have compassion for the struggles of others, wisdom to
acknowledge our own, and courage to address them both every day.

Respectfully,
Tim

This is a daily newsletter of LOVE WORKS DAILY:
A collective of individuals of different beliefs and
backgrounds, dedicated to a better world by living LOVE in thought,
word and action. Compassion. Wisdom. Courage.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Peace be with you.

From LOVE WORKS DAILY 03/13/03
(c)2007 T.Thomas Henry