What is Unconditional Love?

"Great Spirit, I was born to say, I Love You. Help remind me through the day that love should be my only goal, my only thought in what I do, and my only inspiration." - Cherokee Prayer

What is love?

I just wanted to share my understanding of what love is; not the emotional or romantic feelings that most people equate with that word, but the unconditional love that each one of us carries inside of us, the true expression of our souls.  I hope I can find the words for what I wish to express here, because this is an important concept I am hoping to put across.  The bulk of what I am saying, most of you have heard before from one place or another, but it is worth saying again.

What is unconditional love?  It is love/compassion for all no matter what they have done or who they have become.  Most religions that I have studied teach this concept in some way.  It sounds like a simple concept and yet difficult for many to actually put into practice. 

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people express that they unconditionally love for all and then turn around and express fear and hatred toward others practically within the next breath.  It is very easy to say we unconditionally love a family member or friend or neighbor whom we feel close to.  It is easy to feel unconditional love for a victim.  For most, though, it is quite a challenge to say we love someone who has killed, tortured, or hurt another in some way.  It is another thing to express love toward someone who has hurt us deeply and yet still another thing to love ourselves unconditionally.  

Through my own journey, I have come to realize that I had been living an illusion of separateness, the same illusion most of us live under.  We are all connected to each other, to the Earth, and beyond this physical world…all of us.  This connection binds us deeply to each other.  We love one another unconditionally, because we all are ultimately one.  

As far back as I can remember, I have always understood on some level the concept of unconditional love toward those who have gone astray but have not always practiced it.  Yes, I love those who have murdered, tortured, hurt others, hurt myself.  I do.  Let this not be confused, though, with condoning behavior.  That is something totally different.  I love those who I differ in opinions with, those who I vehemently disagree with, those who I am angry with. 

I find myself dismayed when I look at my Facebook wall and see hate spewed between classmates, friends, or family all because they disagree on a political point.  There are many ways we can express ourselves and our differing opinions without personal attack, but it seems like that is the easier, though lower road, to travel.  This, though, does seem to match the mood around the country lately and around the world. 

I once asked during my meditation some time ago to be shown how to ‘be’ the unconditional love that I felt from that which is nonphysical.  What I didn’t realize, however, was that I already was that which I was seeking.  We all are.  I just was not practicing it all of the time.  I do my best every day to remember this and put it into practice.  If I fail, I expect those who read this to call me on it :).  This has been a long journey to get here.  One of the reasons we are here is to uplift each other, so we can all become the very best of who we are.

P.S.  If you’re reading this, I love you.