Redefining Love

What does love look like to you?  I used to think that love was anything from the outside world that would fill me up.  Sometimes it looked like an achievement, or people acknowledging me.  And other times it looked like success and money.  But as I have walked the path of The Enlightened Mom, my definition of love has changed dramatically.

Love is the feeling I get when I connect to my heart.  It’s when I sit quietly in the morning and commune with God.  Love is when I look in the eyes of people around me and see the light no matter how much darkness they’re expressing.

Love is simply a feeling I get from the knowingness that all is perfect.

What does love look like to you?  Are you living from beliefs that define love as something outside of yourself?  Or have you moved from your head and into your heart and discovered the love inside of you?

I invite you to take some time with this.  See how you’ve defined love.  Here are some questions to help you get started:

• Do you find yourself wanting to control people believing if they listen and do it “your way” that this is love?

• Are you following your heart in each moment, or are you performing for someone?  Performing may look like holding your voice in and not saying what you want.  Or it may mean that you’re putting yourself on the backburner and getting run down. Performing takes on many forms. Think about your spouse, your kid, or maybe your parents, a boss or a friend.  If you find yourself exclaiming, “Oh, my gosh!  I’m performing for _______!” ask yourself why.  The answer you’ll most likely discover is that you’re seeking this person’s love and approval.  Is this how you define love?

• Is your world wrapped so much around money and work that you’ve lost all feelings of joy and abundance?  Is this because you’ve defined love as how much money and success you have?

Once you’ve spent some time with these questions and found some answers, spend a little more time and create a new definition of love.  Here’s a hint to help you:  think about what makes you truly feel peaceful and abundant.  That’s love.  It doesn’t come from the outside world. Anytime you seek love outside of yourself, you’ll most likely be disappointed.  Yes, you may feel great for a moment, but on the inside there will be a knowingness that something is still missing inside.  To fill that hole, you’ve got to go within and redefine love.  How that looks to you is for you to discover.

Share with us your definition of love in the comments below.