Loving Large

Life in All Its Forms

“...love life in a form that is not your own...and don't expect any understanding; but believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is strength and blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke's advice to a young poet is staggeringly beautiful in the images it draws. For as long as humans have been upright, the young have been outgrowing their parents. Extending tribal consciousness beyond its current boundaries is an essential part of evolving life. But it's lonely, and sometimes comes laced with anger and resentment on both sides. On the part of the tribe, failure to conform engenders wrath. Our young people wonder why everything they do and believe is considered suspect by their elders. Rilke's advice: “love life in a form that is not your own,” and continue to grow.

We spend a great deal of time and breath trying to change other people to our world view—explaining why it's correct and important for them to “get it.” We feel frustrated when they stubbornly stick to their own view, and then we condemn them for it. I'm as guilty of this as anyone on the planet. But this kind of intolerance has made our world a dangerous place. It's the reason we build bombs and raise armies. In the infamous words of an ex-president, “If you aren't with us, then you're against us.” It's a way of keeping the world in chaos and it's simply wrong.

We could respectfully disagree. We could love life in another form and try to support that form as valid. From division in our families, to division in the greater world, we could stop insisting that everyone conform to our way of being...whatever that way may be. We could live in peace and cooperation and everyone would breathe easier and sleep better. We could have faith in the strength of love that is stored up and running over. It is sufficient for our needs and for the needs of others even when we disagree on just about everything.

                                                 In the Spirit,

                                                       Jane