Graduations everywhere, yet slightly unfulfilling; Re-openings of businesses, but with visual changes to our experiences; Emotions running high fighting for our belief systems – Sometimes it just feels like you want to climb into a hole, escape, and wake up the next day to a New World where the sun is shining brightly and everyone is Happy!
A friend of mine many years ago was helping me think about ways to work through a very contentious relationship with my 1st husband and she said to me: ‘Janet, I think you’ve tried everything except PURE LOVE!’ I debated this issue with her saying that I had tried and gave her all of the examples of when I thought I had been modeling pure love, but she insisted I was still NOT understanding the real meaning of PURE LOVE. I now, eight years later, finally understand what she was trying to share with me!
This past Thursday was my older son’s high school graduation. It has been 5 years since my boys and I have lived together due to parental alienation, but I know in my heart that we will have a relationship again in the future! I had a choice about the graduation: engage with my ex-husband and insist that I have the right to be car # 2 in the graduation ceremony; don’t go to the graduation ceremony at all; or go and stand on the sidewalk where the car procession had to pass by – and as I am writing this – all honestly NOT good options!
But as I considered these options something kept gnawing at my gut – Chose PURE LOVE!
So that is exactly what I did! I bought balloons, put on a white summer dress, and went to the graduation. I found an area of the sidewalk that had been set up for families to get out of their cars for photos and I stayed there with my balloons. Sounding sad? Actually, by choosing PURE LOVE, I was able to be 100% present, smiling at all of the families that passed me by to take pictures, congratulating the graduates and their families, and receiving congratulations wishes back! In my mind I was wishing the most wonderful happy experiences for all of the families and graduates on that day and what I got back from having these thoughts was the sensation of complete happiness, fulfillment, and love! Because the graduation ceremony was live streaming, I was able to listen to the ceremony on my phone, see the families that were going by, and see my son via the live streaming: arrive onto the stage, receive the most amazing warmth from the school administration, and receive his diploma with a huge smile! I felt so happy for him and all that he has accomplished – Isn’t that what we all want for our children on their graduation day!
I chose to go to the graduation with PURE LOVE in my heart for everything and everyone that I would encounter and what this choice gave me was pure happiness and fulfillment that I would not have anticipated I would receive. I had a smile on my face for the entire 4 hours I was standing on the sidewalk and every encounter I had just filled me up more! I finally see that by opening your heart up to PURE LOVE, negativity or ill will feelings cannot exist because there just is no place for them! This is what my friend was trying to explain to me.
Where can you choose PURE LOVE in your life today and how might that change you and the environment around you?
I am proud of you. You keep doing what you’re doing and it will pay off…
You have lots of love and support around you. ❤️