It can be so easy sometimes to extend our love,
To family,
To friends,
To the cute guy you pass on the street.
What a beautiful thing it is to have our hearts filled with love for these people.
But our hearts are far more complex and impressive than that.
They know no limits.
They can extend their love way farther than the reach of these people.
Who says you can’t send love to someone you don’t know,
Someone you don’t like,
Someone you positively hate.
Hate isn’t the opposite of love. Fear is.
You can hate someone and still send them love.
Your heart wants love. It desires love.
Go ahead. Test its limits.
Every day, I challenge my heart to send love to someone I don’t particularly like.
It hasn’t failed me yet.
Your heart will never turn down the opportunity to send love.
Your co-worker who irritates you non-stop. Send him love.
Your mother-in-law who is critical of your every decision. Send her love.
Your family member that you haven’t spoken to in years. Send him love.
The girlfriend of the guy you have a major crush on. Send her love.
Your ex who broke your heart. Send her love.
The political leader you despise. Send him love.
The murderer of an innocent life. Send him love.
Send them all love.
Extending love doesn’t mean you have to approve of these peoples’ actions or lives.
It just recognizes that everyone, everywhere could use more love.
Filling your heart with love makes your heart soar, no matter who it is for.
So honor your heart by recognizing that its love is boundless.
When you hear a piece of particularly awful news. Find it in your heart to send that person love.
When you feel angry, scared and powerless – drown those emotions in love.
When you don’t know what you can possibly do,
Fill your heart with more love.
Send endless amounts of love fiercely throughout this world.
Send love to those troubled souls that need it the most.
All too quickly does our world want us to be pitted against each other,
Enhance the illusion of separation.
There is no separation.
We are all one.
Extending love to anyone, is extending love to yourself.
Feel that connection.
Your heart has that ability.
Your love is immense.
Your love is potent.
Your love is magic.
Lift your energy and the collective energy of the world with your love.
Challenge your heart to extend love to those that annoy you,
Those that disgust you,
Those that scare you.
Your heart will not disappoint.
IMR▽MMA 
Dear Colleen:
Your wisdom continues to delight me. Perhaps you know of the Buddhist tradition of praying for loving-kindness. Or perhaps you’ve come to the idea on your own. I learned this prayer recently and find it enormously helpful in these disturbing times. First you say the prayer for yourself. Then you imagine a loved one or loved ones and say the prayer for them. Then you imagine someone who gives you trouble or who causes difficulty and you say the prayer for him or her. Finally, you imagine the whole world and you say the prayer for all of us:
May I/you/we be safe from inner and outer harm.
May I/you/we be free from guilt, shame, and hatred.
May I/you/we have physical and mental well-being.
May I/you/we live with the ease of an open heart.
May I/you/we go beyond our inner darkness and awaken to our radiant true nature as boundless love.
You are in our hearts. Love, Karen and Tom.
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Hi Karen!!
Thank you for your continued love and support! It means so much to me! 🙂
Yes, I think I have done that prayer/meditation before. I think the other name for it is ‘metta’ meaning loving-kindness. It is a beautiful and healing practice.
Our love is the only force that can uplift and heal in these troubling times.
Love you
xox
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This is the crux of St. Theresa’s (Therese of Lisieux) Little Way. GOD IS LOVE and everything is grace. Relating it to our pop culture world, the words to Dionne Warwick’s classic, “What the World Needs Now” repeats this ageless message of the universe. When, Lord, will we all catch on?
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