I chose this quote as our Santosha Yoga February affirmation, a nugget of wisdom from clinical psychologist and renowned mindful meditation teacher Jack Kornfield. It illustrates the power that cultivating loving relationships can have on our health and wellbeing in a simplistically perfect way.
Building genuine, heartfelt interactions with others can provide great happiness and contentment, making us feel blessed in unexplainable ways. Such ties are like gravity, vast and invisible on the outside, yet unstoppable from the inside. Plainly, strong bonds with loyal friends connect us not only when we are spending time together. They are hidden forces, sustaining us when we are apart, helping us cope with the challenges of daily life. Loving relationships are a thing of beauty. They provide us with choices to commit to struggles and embrace possibilities, to accept little imperfections we see in each other. Critical aspects of healthy loving relationships include continuing growth and wonderment at this blessed mystery.
In today’s world, it seems that advocating for greater independence is a stronger motivation, tending to overpower the beauty of honest, loving relationships, caring commitment and mutual cooperation. We are unique beings with distinctive personalities. Furthermore, we are choosing to spend quality time with another one-of-a-kind being to whom we are attracted. Certainly, everyday challenges strain even our greatest friendships. Definitely, we are not capable of generating a continuing flow of loving-kindness for those we care for, mostly because we may not always be a “nucleus of love” for ourselves! It is vital to our overall health and relationships that we practice self-care, taking time to assess, then working diligently to enrich our physical, energetic, emotional, mindful and spiritual wellbeing. Touching base with these wellness dimensions on a daily basis helps raise our self-esteem and limits self-judgment. We commit to self-forgiveness in kindhearted ways. Fostering self-care establishes a foundation for strengthening our relationships. Indeed, they can become even more genuine. We learn to diminish ways we judge others in general, and become more understanding of their little “quirks” — or at least we handle them graciously. Forgiving hurtful moments becomes easier; even at our lowest “ebb,” we are more tenderhearted in dealing with others.
Thus, we can each become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, cherished and appreciated. Loving, valuing and honoring other individuals can become effortless at times, when we work at loving ourselves every single day. Without doubt, this must be a lifelong “work-in-progress”; it is not easy, but it is possible! Learning to have few or no expectations, we can operate from a place of selfless sharing and caring for that special friend. As L.L. Hay so eloquently reminds us: “When I share love, it comes back to me multiplied … If I want more love, then I have only to give love.”
Nurture your loving relationships in heartfelt ways. Life is way too short not to rejoice in the love we can share.
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