Supreme Happiness

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction of being loved for yourself, or, more correctly, being loved in spite of yourself."

-- Victor Hugo

It's long been my contention that much dysfunctional behavior is a convoluted call for love. The perpetrator is merely saying in a behavioral way, "Will you love me now? Do you still love me now?" And we have been taught by the parable of the prodigal son, and by most other spiritual teaching, to reply with an "Of course I still love you." But it ain't easy, it ain't easy.

What it behooves us to remember is that all of us play both roles -- seeker of love and giver of love -- at various times throughout our lives. How much better off would we be if we just dropped all the role playing and assumed our true spiritual identity -- lover? To be love is so much different than to play the role of either seeker or giver. More difficult, too.

To love unconditionally is both the hardest spiritual discipline and the most exquisite component of enlightenment. It totally destroys the game of the ego. You no longer get to pick and choose who's "worthy" of receiving your love. Hell, you don't even get to call it "yours" anymore. You merely become a clean conduit, a hollow reed for the channeling and dispersing of universal love. Can you imagine a higher calling?

What if everyone you met felt loved for themself, in spite of themself, and deep down to the core of their real Self? Perhaps that's what meeting Jesus was like. One theory I've heard advanced says that Jesus healed not by some psychic healing powers or hocus pocus magic, but merely by seeing perfection. His spiritual insight was so keen that all he saw was perfection; and his energy was so strong that the Universe responded in kind.

True or not, we have no way of knowing. What we do have a way of knowing is how love impacts those around us. We can run some fascinating experiments simply by loving.

So today, take every opportunity to love. That doesn't mean indulging in gushing hyperbole and sweaty group hugs. Love in whatever manner is appropriate. Love people for who they appear to be, in spite of who they appear to be, and, most importantly, for who they really are. How? There are no blueprints, no road maps. The GPS for love lies within each of us. Find and follow, and you'll do just fine.