Love is the one true religion, in my humble opinion.

True because Love is the only path to true freedom.

Consider these thoughts:

Love forgives
    even when I feel hurt
    because forgiveness sets me free.
Love communicates
    since wisdom has taught me
    that Healing is born in dialogue.
Love forgets
    because remembering
    destroys my peace.
Love judges not
    because peace is more important
    than needing to be right.
Love sees Light
    where my hurt
    imagines only darkness.
Love never condemns
    for condemnation is an attempt
    to control what is not mine.
Love sets me free
    by releasing the chains
    that all other choices impose.
Love is the only religion
    which actually delivers the freedom
    all other traditions promise.

Love makes room for everyone by creating a heart which is open and expansive enough to allow for that which I may not agree with and sometimes may not even understand.

Think about these words from the great Sufi master Ibn Arabi:

My heart holds within it every form,  
    it contains a pasture for gazelles, 
    a monastery for Christian monks.
There is a temple for idol-worshippers,
    a holy shrine for pilgrims;
There is the table of the Torah,
    and the Book of the Koran.
I follow the religion of Love
    and go whichever way His camel leads me.
This is the true faith;
This is the true religion.

I love Maya Angelou’s words in her famous poem, titled Touched by an Angel:

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies  
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

My religion is love,
It’s temple is my heart
For this is the only religion
In which I have ever found
Lasting freedom from the pain
That life serves up on a daily basis.

Finally, I will leave you with another short piece of prose which I penned when I was feeling sad and lonely. This was my hearts response to the question “Why am I so unloved?”

When people disappoint you
Choose Love anyway.
When people aggravate you
Choose Love anyway.
When people offend you
Choose Love anyway.
When people disrespect you
Choose Love anyway.
When people fail to Love you
Choose Love anyway.

You can never control other people.
You can never make others
Act the way you want them to,
Choose love anyway;
Because in the choosing
You set yourself free:
Free of the bondage
That your anger,
Your resentment,
Your disappointment offers.

Freedom is not free,
Yet it is a choice
Which costs you nothing;
Nothing real anyway,
Nothing tangible,
Nothing but the swallowing
Of ego’s child: pride.

My religion is Love
For in Love’s embrace
My life is a better place.

Here is another post I made in July of 2015. Following a Toastmaster’s Meeting in which my friend John Ruck read the following passage from Og Mandino’s book, The Greatest Salesman in the World, I went home and found this passage. I found it in the book listed as scroll II.
Consider these thoughts: 

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I speak? I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends; I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs.

Is it not that birds, the wind, the sea and all of nature speaks with the music of praise for their creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to his children? Henceforth will I remember this secret and it will change my life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I act? I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they be hidden. With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts and in its place will I build bridges so that my love may enter their souls.

I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me! I will love the failures for they can teach me. I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share. I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace.   

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

But how will I react to the actions of others? With love. For just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love is also my shield to repulse the arrows of hate and the spears of anger. Adversity and discouragement will beat against my new shield and become as the softest of rains. My shield will protect me in the market place and sustain me when I am alone. It will uplift me in moments of despair yet it will calm me in time of exultation. It will become stronger and more protective with use until one day I will cast aside and walk unencumbered among all manners of men and, when I do, my name will be raised high on the pyramid of life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. And who is there who will say nay to my goods when his hearts feels my love?

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And most of all I will love myself. For when I do I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul, and my heart. Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh; rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

Henceforth will I love all mankind. From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate, only time to love. From this moment I take the first step required to become a man among men. With love I will increase my sales a hundred-fold and become a great salesman. If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world.

I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.

I liked this the first time I read Og Mandino’s excellent book. I liked it the day John Ruck reminded me of it. I liked it when I just read it. Some things are timeless that way.

I may share each of Og Mandino’s scrolls from this timeless book, in the next few days. I think he had keen insight into the ways of functioning as a fully spiritual and fully human being.

I published this piece of prose on July 25^th 2007 but it was on a different server and the blog was under a different name, so I doubt there is any record of it, save the possibility of someone, on my list at that time, having kept it because it spoke to them.

I came across this writing today as I was up to 2007 in my overcrowded inbox. As I read it, I found it still speaks to me, today, as much as it did eight years ago, so I thought I would share it again. Besides, there are 20k+ people with whom I interact today, who did not know me eight years ago.

I hope you enjoy this piece. I hope you feel like sharing your thoughts with me, if this speaks to you.

It Sounds So Easy How much I long to begin each day with a clean slate. It is my hope. It is my goal. Then our eyes meet. The autonomic data base, I cannot seem to leave at home, Starts running, Starts querying Offers information Neither sought Nor desired. It is not particularly demanding Although it does expect that the information offered Will be accepted As valid and pertinent. It has been in charge For so long, It’s authority seems non-negotiable. So I have an immediate battle When I try to look at you Through new eyes. These input sensors appear loyal To this autonomic master Regardless of my demands, hopes or dreams. I process so much information I easily lose all hope of seeing anything, Most especially anyone With the eyes of a child. Our history, Be it real or imagined, Fuels an expectancy Which by all appearances Seems to be insurmountable. If this stored memory Has been one of joy I am immediately Delighted by your presence. If I have judged Our prior interactions As less than pleasurable, Then I must claw my way Through a haze of discontent To even appear to be open, To the possibility Of an affable relationship. I am told, repeatedly, By sages and sunsets, Simply “be here now“. Leave the past With each exhale. Yet I often find I have no present Not fully defined by the past. All of my senses seem to Conspire to keep me As I have always been. I know not to judge you. I’ve worked at that for years. Yet, sometimes, the best I can do Is ignore the flashing lights And whistles Which insist on warning me Or alerting me To what I can expect From someone who looks like you Someone who dresses like you Someone who talks like you Someone who smells like you Someone with your history As defined by mine. So, in my quest To see you with untainted vision I spend all my time Begging for forgiveness For this incessant need To define, To intellectualize, To brandish My perceived skills At reading people. When we meet And you wonder why I am not great at small talk Now you know. I am battling my own inner voices Begging for sanity longing to be free of the past striving to be fearless about the future; like a little David hoping to lay his Goliath to rest with gentle love and kindness instead of WMD’s. This inner challenge Consumes me. Once the life of the party Now I carry the party with me Everywhere I go. Deeper and deeper I move to my interior In search of the “off” switch In search of the “plug to pull” On the memory storage Which demands I see you Through the lens of yesterday. So, know that I am not ignoring you When you ask my opinion About global warming or the price of gas, I am merely trying to love you Without falling prey to the voices Which insist it is not wise to do so Because of the way you wear your hair Or the way you flaunt your insecurities By accentuating our separateness. I know the Truth is that you and I are one. I know, beyond any doubt, that the things I see in you, which cause my consternation, Are gifts to me, pointing me to where I Need to learn to fully love myself. I am so very grateful That you are willing to play that part In my life. I humbly ask That you be patient with me As I learn to love myself more So that I may show up As real and as authentic as possible When our paths next meet. I know the truth about who you are. I promise to keep discovering The truth about who I am.