Our job...

"Our job is to learn to love as God loves, which means everyone all the time."

-- Marianne Williamson

Jesus Christ, Marianne, couldn't you think of anything more difficult? Couldn't we just fly to the moon on gossamer wings and call it a day?

I'm afraid not. And we can't really blame Marianne for the difficulty of the task that confronts us. She didn't really write the job description herself; she lifted it from all the great spiritual teachers and traditions, both ancient and contemporary.

True, it's a daunting task. Love everyone! Are you kidding? And yet, what else is there worth doing? Amass a fortune, build a big company, win the Super Bowl, buy more stuff -- they all seem so meaningless in comparison to love.

Really, you can do anything you want. Any of the things above, or anything else you can think of, as long as in the process you are learning to love as God loves. As long as you are learning to do everything you do with love, and treat everyone you meet with love, the external forms of your life hardly matter. Janitor or jet pilot, starlet or astronomer, troubadour or techno nerd -- whatever role calls to you, it, too, can be a pathway to love.

The key thing, the really important thing is that you take love from the personal realm to the impersonal, that you love people not because of some seemingly lovable quality they have but because of who they are -- shining splinters of the Divine. The eyes of love see beyond form to Spirit, beyond personality to essence, beyond body to soul.

And when you truly see a person, any person, you can't help but love them. Love comes naturally. You don't have to make it happen, you don't have to will it, or compel it, or force it out through your pores, it pours forth from you unhindered and uninhibited. You and love become one.

So today your task is so simple, yet so staggeringly awesome -- love all. Find at least a fleeting spot of love in your heart for everyone that you encounter. Act from that spot as much as possible -- live love. That's all.

I hope you have a lovely day.